Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1086 and 1090 together.

The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme is not yet open and so no applications have been made to the Scheme. It is not possible to comment on a specific individual's potential eligibility for benefits. It may be helpful to note that the Scheme will be straightforward and non-adversarial, and will provide benefits to applicants based on time spent in an institution without any requirement to bring forward evidence of abuse or harm.

Opening the Scheme as soon as possible is a priority for me and my Department. The underpinning legislation for the Scheme, signed into law in July this year, allows for the establishment of an Executive Office in my Department to administer the Scheme and the appointment of the Chief Deciding Officer to head up that office. It also allows for the making of the necessary regulations which must be in place prior to the Scheme opening and provides a lawful basis for access to information and records which are essential for the processing of applications.

Intensive work is underway to establish the administrative structures needed to open the Scheme but this will take a number more months. 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 Executive Office to be supported by an experienced third party which will facilitate efficiencies in application processing and payments.

In accordance with the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act, 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 the Scheme is being developed.

My Department recently made a call to survivors and former residents who may be interested in being part of a stakeholder reference group to provide feedback on the draft application and communication materials for the Scheme, and a very positive response was received.

An information awareness campaign will take place in Ireland and abroad at the time of the Scheme opening. Applicants will be supported throughout the process with information and advice if they need it. I would encourage any person who thinks they may be eligible for the Scheme to make an application at that time.