Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What we must bear in mind when discussing this Bill is whether its provisions reflect the needs of survivors of institutional abuse. They are the ones whose lives were changed due to the conditions and treatment to which they were subject. We cannot forget that their lives have also been shaped by the disregard shown to them in the decades subsequent to their confinement in places like Sean Ross Abbey in Roscrea. Those decades involved further disregard and the withholding of personal information they would have taken for granted if their lives had not been put on another course that was littered with obstacles to the truth. The challenges of dealing with the lifelong consequences of their treatment at a tier below other people must be recognised here. The conditions pregnant women were subjected to in Sean Ross Abbey is just one case in point. For these reasons, we must focus on whether the provisions of this Bill address the needs of survivors. That includes equality of access. The committee recommended that the legislation ensure all survivors of the residential institutions have equal access, yet this is being ignored through the exclusion of those who did not apply for redress.

Then there is the issue of the enhanced medical card. Survivors say that the difference between this card and the regular medical card entitlements is minimal. Will the Minister revisit this with a view to providing all survivors with a Health (Amendment) Act, HAA, card? I know of one woman – Joan is her name – who needs an operation on both knees. She also needs hearing aids and both of her eyes have cataracts. She is a survivor and has been promised an enhanced medical card but she has received nothing to date.

There are also the survivors living abroad who may find themselves at a disadvantage because of where life took them. I am sure the Minister is aware that access to health services in other jurisdictions is different from what it is here. As such, the one-off €3,000 grant is insufficient, is likely to fall foul of exchange rates and must be index-linked to the cost of living. This point was also raised in the committee. Does the Minister intend to address this or will survivors once again have to campaign on this matter when they find themselves going without? In addition, has the Department engaged with the Department for Work and Pensions in the UK about addressing any issue that may arise for those in the UK in respect of a disregard of this payment for those in receipt of a state benefit? These are all issues that must be ironed out ahead of implementation to avoid the need for survivors again having to fight for their rightful entitlements.

The Bill in its current form is overly restrictive and creates new obstacles for survivors. This must stop. The Minister can play her part by revisiting those aspects of the Bill that have been brought to her attention. Apologies and words are not enough any more. It is the measures that reinforce those sentiments that are of primary importance.

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