Seanad debates
Thursday, 19 June 2025
Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024: Committee Stage
2:00 am
Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
I will respond to a couple of points. It is an average of €15,000. Some might have received less; some might have received more. Some 57,000 payments have been made in total. A lot of them would have been from when the Senator mentioned, in 2017. There were two main elements of the way they were paid out, namely, housing and home improvements, which accounted for €68.7 million, and health supports at €27.4 million. Any of the remaining elements went to education and other areas of support. There have been audited accounts every year, and they are available. It is very clear to see where they have gone and to whom they have gone. That has happened every year, but that is in and around how the figure has been divided up. The exact figure is €50,000 or so, but I am absolutely clear that wherever that money goes, it has to go directly to survivors, and it should be at their discretion as to where it should go.
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