Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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391. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to respond to correspondence (details supplied) regarding a mother and baby home payment scheme appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22339/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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While I try to be helpful at all times in the parliamentary process, the Deputy will be aware that I cannot be involved in individual cases and cannot comment on same.

The legislation underpinning the Payment Scheme - the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 - specifically provides for the explicit independence of the Chief Deciding Officer in administering the application process and making decisions on applications. Therefore, it would be inappropriate for me to engage in the process in relation to the status of individual applications. That said, I will try to be helpful in general terms.

The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme provides payments and health benefits to people who spent time in any of the Mother and Baby or County Home Institutions that were identified by the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation as having a main function of providing sheltered and supervised ante and post-natal facilities to single mothers and their children. The institutions covered by the Payment Scheme are set out in Schedule 1 to the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023.

The Government recognises that there are people who suffered stigma, trauma and abuse in other institutions. If it were to come to light that an institution, in which the State had a regulatory or inspection function, fulfilled a similar function with regard to single women and their children as those included in the Payment Scheme, section 49 of the Act provides that the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, may insert an additional institution into the Schedule.

In addition to a range of applicant supports such as a help-line, public representatives can contact the Payment Scheme Office via a dedicated email address paymentschemereps@equality.gov.ie if they are assisting constituents in relation to the Scheme.

Whilst I cannot explicitly comment on specific applications, I understand that staff from the Payment Scheme Office will follow up with the Deputy directly in respect of the application to which the Deputy refers.