Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I am acutely aware of the sense of urgency surrounding the establishment of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme and I am focused on delivering the Scheme as soon as possible. To that end, a significant milestone was achieved on 11 July with the enactment of the underpinning legislation - the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023.

This Act allows for the establishment of an Executive Office in my Department to oversee the Scheme and the appointment of the Chief Deciding Officer to head up that office, as well as the staff needed to support the performance of his or her functions.

In terms of staffing for Scheme delivery, following careful consideration of a number of important factors, including the need to open the Scheme as soon as possible and the ability to be responsive and scale up and down to meet Scheme demand, a blended operating model is being developed. This will provide for the Chief Deciding Officer to be supported by a core Executive Office based in my Department and also by experienced third party support. To this end, my Department is currently concluding a tendering process with a preferred bidder that has been identified following a procurement process. All staff in the Executive Office, as well as the third party support team, will operate under the direction and supervision of the Chief Deciding Officer and a comprehensive training programme for all staff involved in Scheme delivery is being developed.

Intensive work is underway to conclude the work on the administrative structures in as timely a manner as possible and to transition to a live Scheme.