Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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531. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to outline the mechanism for former residents of mother and baby institutions to update the records held on them (details supplied). [4182/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme is designed to provide payments and other benefits to people who spent time in specified Mother and Baby or County Home Institutions. The legislation underpinning the Scheme provides, that the Payment Scheme Office staff may access a number of archives containing the institutional records for Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. When an application is received, it triggers extensive searches of these archives to find the dates of entry and exit from the institution or institutions applied for. A notice of determination then issues to the applicant.

If an applicant thinks the determination is erroneous in any way, they can request a review by completing a short form in which they outline their particular issue with the determination. If they have any information that might assist to resolve the issue it can be provided. The legislation provides that the Payment Scheme Office staff may engage with an applicant or request further information in seeking to determine an application. In circumstances where there are incomplete records or where records are questioned by the applicant, the Payment Scheme Office staff will discuss this with the applicant and an affidavit may be requested.

More broadly, if an individual considers that the personal data held by my Department in relation to them is inaccurate or incomplete, they may wish to exercise their right to rectification under the General Data Protection Regulation.

Where a request for rectification is submitted by an individual, my Department will consider all practical options as may be appropriate in the circumstances including the particular context of the historical nature of the data contained in the Mother and Baby Homes archive. Rectification may, for example, include associating a supplementary statement with the relevant record. Each request by an individual to exercise their right to rectification of personal data is considered on a case by case basis.

In this particular case I would advise the applicant to request a review of her application so that the Payment Scheme Office can seek to understand the alleged discrepancy.