Victor Boyhan (Independent)

I move amendment No. 24:

In page 9, between lines 28 and 29 to insert the following: “Supports for the excluded

7. Sage Advocacy shall be able to make recommendations to Government so that health services and education supports can be allocated to former residents who’ve been excluded from this Bill and previous redress schemes. The Minister shall have the ability to approve the recommendations made by a Sage Advocacy on a case-by-case basis.”.

We have covered this pretty well. I thank the Minister for reaching out. We will work something out together, I hope, in relation to Sage Advocacy. It does amazing work. It will expand and grow. Many of us will know Damian O'Farrell because he was formerly a councillor on Dublin City Council. He is a survivor and has an amazing back story. He is part of the unit that will deal with this in Sage Advocacy. It is important and goes to what we said earlier about assisting people at various stages of coping and moving on with their lives. It is never easy to move on. You do not forget, certainly. The more we know about this area, the more we can assist. It means Government is slightly stepping back. It may be supporting it but it is stepping back from direct interventions. We have heard from survivors and affected people of the importance of independence and support that treats them with dignity and respect. I am happy that we will work something out here.