Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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631. To ask the Minister for Health the payments made by his Department and-or the surgical symphysiotomy ex gratia payment scheme on or after 22 November 2016 out of the €400,000 that was still outstanding in payments on that date; the person or body to which these payments were made; the amounts and dates on which these payments were made; and the total amount paid to these persons by his Department and-or the payment scheme. [45667/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Surgical Symphysiotomy Ex-gratia Payment Scheme, which was approved by Government, concluded with the publication of the Report of its independent Assessor, Judge Maureen Harding Clark, on 22 November 2016. Prior to the commencement of the Scheme it was estimated that the total cost of the Scheme would be around €34 million. My Department paid all costs relating to the Scheme from within its own budget on foot of a request for payment for each item of costs from Judge Clark.

On pages 29 and 30 in her final report, which she submitted to me on 19 October, 2016, Judge Clark had estimated that the total cost of the Scheme would be €33.185 million, comprised of €29.8 million in awards to the women, €2.08 million to solicitors for assisting applicants and for costs incurred for proceedings in the High Court, approximately €105,000 for examination and investigation of the symphysiotomy/pubiotomy claims and around €1.2 million in administrative costs including the salary of the Judge and her team of three Counsel and office expenses. At that time Judge Clark had estimated that around €400,000 of the overall total had yet to be paid. However, on 1 December, 2016, which was the date on which the final payment was made by my Department under the Scheme, it transpired that only €214,965.88 in payments had been outstanding.

The payments made between the date of receipt by me of Judge Clark's report (19 October, 2016) and the date on which the final payment relating to the Scheme was made, (1 December, 2016) and also the overall total amount paid under the Scheme to each payee, are set out in the table: