Written answers
Thursday, 7 March 2024
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Mother and Baby Homes
Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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313. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will expand the redress scheme to include all those who spent time in a mother and baby institution or county home; if he will consider making an enhanced medical card available to all survivors, extend the scheme to anyone abused in a 'boarding out'/adoptive placement or abused through forced labour, vaccine trials, racial or disability-based discrimination or illegal expatriation outside the State for adoption, by allowing affected people to swear their testimony in a non-adversarial way; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11271/24]
Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions contains 22 commitments to survivors, intended to address the expressed priorities of those who spent time in Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions, as well as respond to the findings and recommendations of the Commission of Investigation. Of these 22 commitments, 9 are completed and a further 11 are in progress. The two remaining actions are medium/longer term goals. Work is ongoing across all thematic areas to ensure that survivors see tangible results as soon as possible.
The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme is a centrepiece of the Action Plan. It will open to applications on 20 March and will provide financial payments to an estimated 34,000 people, some 19,000 of whom will also benefit from an enhanced medical card or health support payment. These benefits are in recognition of experiences while resident in Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. The overall cost of the Payment Scheme is estimated at €800 million.
The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme is just one aspect of the overall package of supports and measures set out in the Government’s Action Plan. Other important measures include access to birth information provided through the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022, the intervention at the site of the former Tuam Mother and Baby Institution, the appointment of a Special Advocate for Survivors which I announced earlier this week, and the establishment of a National Centre for Research and Remembrance on the site of the former Magdalen Laundry on Sean McDermott Street.
The Action Plan seeks to provide an inclusive, comprehensive and enduring response to the priority needs of all survivors. Importantly, this package also includes counselling services which are available to all survivors and former residents.
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