Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair and Senators. I will respond to both amendments Nos. 39 and 40. I am not in a position to accept these amendments, the first of which requires the preparation of reports on the potential to extend eligibility for payments and the enhanced medical card to persons who, as children of mixed race, were removed from an institution covered by this scheme and were placed in another institution.

With respect to amendment No. 39, as we know, the eligibility criteria for the enhanced medical card was approved by Government at the time of the publication of the Commission's final report. This qualifying time of 180 days or more largely encompasses those residents who were in institutions for longer periods of time. We know that residents who were in the institutions for longer periods of time were generally in those institutions prior to the 1970s. The further back one goes, the longer the time spent in the institutions. We also know from the Commission's report that it was those residents who were likely to experience the harsher conditions. We know from looking at the chronological development of each of these institutions that in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s the conditions were much harder. It is fair to say that those who spent six months or more in an institution would have had further exposure to the very harsh conditions in these institutions, and a consequent impact on their health and well-being.As we know, medical card provision is linked to medical need. I am referring to the linking of access to medical services to need.

It is important to note, as I did yesterday, that there is a very important service available to all former residents. There is access to the National Counselling Service, NCS, free of charge, and access for former residents of mother and baby and county home institutions as a prioritised group. It is always important to make this point because I am not sure whether all survivors know about the service. Many will say it is not something they particularly need but it is important that we remind survivors that it exists.

In response to some of the Senator's amendments that we dealt with yesterday, I referred to the inclusion of data and the idea of recording who has been refused access to the enhanced medical card on grounds of ineligibility. That, too, will be reflected in the annual report that will be compiled by the chief deciding officer under section 12 of the Bill. It is not just a matter of a once-off report but of an annual response, which is useful.

It is important that any reports that we require in this legislation be required on the basis of what is in the scheme. As the Senator knows, what she is proposing goes beyond the scheme. Not only is she referring to the investigation of the presence of children of mixed race in institutions but also to their movements to other institutions. That goes well beyond the scope of the Bill. It would be very difficult, within a six-month period, to produce a detailed report on movement to other institutions – institutions about which this Bill does not necessarily give a legal right to information. This Bill provides legal access to the mother and baby homes and county homes database, the database we discussed in October 2020, but it does not give immediate access to data on the other institutions covered by the amendment.

The argument of Senator Higgins and others on special payments to reflect racism that was experienced relates to amendment No. 41. We can touch on the matter in more detail in our discussion on that amendment.