Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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70. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason An Grianán is not included on the list of institutions covered by the restorative justice scheme; and if she will make available the list of institutions excluded and the basis for their exclusion. [26574/14]

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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My question relates to why An Grianán was not included in the list of institutions covered by the restorative justice scheme, the other institutions that were not included and the basis for their exclusion.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The ex gratiascheme covers the ten Magdalen laundries that were the subject of the McAleese report and two other institutions that were subsequently included, those being, St. Mary's training centre, Stanhope Street, and the House of Mercy training school, Summerhill, Wexford. To date, 754 applications have been received and 357 applicants have received their lump sum payments at a cost of €12.8 million. A further 106 formal offers have been made and letters of provisional assessment on the length of stay in a relevant institution have issued to an additional 35 applicants. A substantial body of work and engagement has already taken place as regards those who are eligible for the scheme.

Of the 754 applications received, 71 have been refused because the applicants were not in one of the 12 specified institutions.

Some 24 applicants listed An Grianán as the institution in which they spent time. There is an independent appeals process operated by the Office of the Ombudsman. Any woman whose application has been refused is advised that she may appeal against the decision to the Office of the Ombudsman. I understand that five applicants who were in An Grianán have appealed to the Office of the Ombudsman and decisions are awaited in respect of these cases.

I am sure the Deputy is familiar with An Grianán but I will put on the record of the House that it was established by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity in the 1960s specifically for the care of teenagers. Though it was on the same site as the Magdalen laundry, St. Mary's refuge in High Park, Drumcondra, it served a different purpose. There was a number of different institutions on that site.

The different nature of An Grianán was recognised by its inclusion in the Residential Institutions Redress Board scheme. All girls admitted to An Grianán were entitled to full compensation for the entire duration of their stay under the Residential Institutions Redress Board scheme.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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I want to put on the record of the House two letters I received from ladies who were in An Grianán as I think they show the difficulties unique to that institution. A woman I will refer to as Anne wrote to me on behalf of "An Grianán girls" who were refused the ex gratiascheme. She was 11 years old when she was sent to An Grianán and put in time at the laundry. She did not put in the same amount of time as those residents called "the seniors" because she was a "junior". While other children played with their friends and did homework she was cleaning dirty prison sheets. She received a small sum from the redress board and did not know at the time that another scheme would emerge. She was precluded from availing of the later scheme as she had received money from the redress board.

I will call the second lady Maria. She spent three years in An Grianán and worked in the laundry. She says she did the very same work and was treated the same as the seniors. She was made handle filthy sheets and lift, push and pull this bedding. For various reasons, some very personal, she and a number of others applied late to the Residential Institutions Redress Board and are stuck in their situation. Maria said not to include An Grianán would be a great injustice to those refused by the redress board.

I ask that individual cases such as those I have outlined be considered.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan for the points she has raised on those cases. I have outlined the different situation relating to An Grianán. One of the women Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan refers to went to the redress board. Does the Deputy expect that people should have access to both the Residential Institutions Redress Board scheme and the Magdalen laundry scheme? It was not intended that people who had already been dealt with through a redress scheme would also be dealt with by this scheme.

The Deputy also points out that a person, for whatever reason, did not avail of the redress scheme. If a person falls between two schemes I think the appropriate action is an appeal to the Ombudsman. I am sure the Ombudsman will make a ruling on this matter and I will monitor the Ombudsman's rulings.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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The woman in question did appeal to the Ombudsman and I saw the letter received in reply. The Ombudsman said he understood the rationale behind this person's arguments in support of her case and he was sympathetic. However, he was prevented from acting because of the nature of the scheme.

This all illustrates that the industrial schools, Magdalen laundries and mother and child homes should all have been included in a single, thorough, independent investigation. At the moment it is a piecemeal process. An Grianán presents a particularly difficult situation because of the other centres on the same site. Women were moved from one place to another on the same site. The woman in the first case I outlined received a sum of money due to the fact that she experienced the industrial school but she has not received anything for the time she spent in the laundry. No scheme is perfect and it is only apparent how these schemes have failed when individual cases are examined. I feel what I have outlined furthers the case for the inclusion of the Magdalen laundries in the inquiry into mother and child homes.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach made the apologies and Mr. Justice Quirke carried out his investigation and submitted recommendations in relation to the Magdalen laundries. Women who were in the Magdalen laundries have applied for benefits under that scheme.

This morning, the Government, on my proposal, agreed to the publication of the scheme of a new Bill to provide for services and supports for women who worked in the Magdalen laundries. The purpose of this Bill is to make additional provision for access to health services, the exempting of payments which have been made by the State to these women from means-test criteria in respect of certain State services, for example, the fair deal scheme. It also provides for legal provision for relatives or other appropriate persons to act on behalf of any of the women who do not have the capacity to act on their own behalf. The heads of that legislation were agreed this morning. It is hoped it will be published and enacted soon.

I accept the point that there are some women who fall outside the scheme. In terms of the numbers of women who ended up in industrial schools, as I understand it the cross-over between industrial schools and the Magdalen laundries was 4%. As I said, the scheme is primarily for women who were in the laundries. The relevant institutions under the scheme are named. Obviously, we are in a different situation now with a new inquiry to be initiated following on from the Tuam situation.