Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Just 1,300 payments have been made or are in the process of being made under the mother and baby homes redress scheme. That is out of 34,000 people who are eligible, not to mention the 24,000 who have been left out of the scheme. Today, I was made aware of a 91-year-old woman who is still waiting. She applied in March. The scheme has been open for six months. Older people were supposed to be prioritised. Another person contacted me earlier this week whose loved one passed away since applying. I ask that the Government looks at the payment scheme and system that is in place, fixes what is there and tries to speed up the payments to these survivors who have frankly been through enough. This needs to be fixed and this needs to be fixed quickly.

See this speech in context