Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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59. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her views on the report by the special advocate for survivors’ in relation to the mother and baby institutions payment scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49908/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Ms. Patricia Carey was appointed to the role of Special Advocate for Survivors of Institutional Abuse in March 2024. Operating independently of the Minister and the Department, her primary role is to amplify the voices of survivors as a central, essential input to Government deliberations on matters which affect them and to promote the collective interests of survivors. Her remit encompasses Mother and Baby Institutions, County Home Institutions, Magdalen Laundries, Industrial and Reformatory Schools and those adopted, boarded out or subject to illegal birth registration.

The First Annual Report of the Special Advocate was published on 24th June. The Report provides a comprehensive overview of the feedback which the Special Advocate has received and outlines in detail the issues raised by survivors as well as the Special Advocate’s recommendations to address them.

I want to thank Patricia and her team for the excellent and extensive work to date. She has approached the task with drive, integrity and compassion, and her report is testament to that.

Since her appointment, Patricia has engaged with over 1,200 people both here in Ireland and abroad. Through these engagements Patricia and her team have collated valuable feedback from survivors and highlighted access to records and redress as the central issues of concern in her first year as Special Advocate.

I am pleased to see the positive and open engagement that has happened with department officials over the past year. Officials in the Department have prepared an initial response to the recommendations - available on the Department's website: (www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/contact-us/#other-useful-contacts) alongside a commitment to continue engaging positively with the Special Advocate in relation to the issues raised.

Finally, I would like to thank survivors and former residents for their continued engagement with the Special Advocate and the Department. It is only through ongoing engagement that we can ensure the voices of survivors continue to be a central input in Government deliberations which affect them.