Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

405. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department will consider a request from persons who attended Ireland’s Industrial and Reformatory Schools (details supplied) to award them a medical card; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51910/25]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

406. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department will consider a request from persons who attended Ireland’s Industrial and Reformatory Schools (details supplied) to award them a full contributory state pension for work done as children, similar to the scheme in place for those who were in Magdalene Laundries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51911/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 405 and 406 together.

I am very conscious of the enormous trauma which has been endured by all survivors of abuse.

I have made arrangements to meet with the group referred to by the Deputy so that I can hear directly from them. The Deputy may also wish to note that officials from my Department recently met with them to listen to their concerns and I also spoke with members of the group who were present during the passage of the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Act 2025.

It is regrettable that they have chosen to take this action and I would urge them to safeguard their health and wellbeing.

The overall response of the State to this issue to date has been significant, and has included the establishment of a redress scheme, the provision of funding supports through Caranua and other initiatives.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Act 2025 completed its passage through the legislative process in July 2025. The purpose of the Act is to enable the delivery of ongoing health and education supports to survivors of abuse in residential institutions, such as industrial schools and reformatories, as approved by Government in June 2023.

It is estimated that approximately 10,000 survivors who previously received an award of redress from the Residential Institutions Redress Board, or a similar court award or settlement, will be eligible for the supports provided under the Act. My Department has also engaged Sage Advocacy, a specialist independent advocacy organisation, to provide advocacy supports to survivors wishing to engage with other relevant services. The provision of these supports marks a new phase in the State’s response to this issue.

The package of health supports and services which is provided for in this Bill will ensure survivors who are resident in the State will have access to a range of health supports through the HSE, including GP services, home nursing and home helps, chiropody and podiatry, and physiotherapy. This approach is consistent with the approach taken previously in respect of survivors and former residents of the Magdalen Laundries and Mother and Baby Institutions.

This entitlement will be for life and will not be subject to means-tests or periodic reviews.

Survivors living abroad will be able to avail of a payment of €3,000 in lieu of this package of supports, to support their health needs. This is the same approach taken in respect of the Mother and Baby Institutions.

With regard to the HAA card provided for under the Health (Amendment) Act 1996, it is important to note that this was introduced specifically to meet the very significant health needs of a particular group of individuals who had contracted a serious and life-threatening condition, i.e. individuals who had contracted Hepatitis C through the administration within the State of contaminated blood and blood products.

The Act also provides for the establishment of a new scheme involving the payment of cash grants ranging from €500 to €2,000 (depending on NFQ level and whether the course is full-time or part-time) to survivors who are engaging in further and higher education. This scheme will also ensure that survivors are not required to pay the Student Contribution Charge where this would otherwise apply.

My Department is finalising the administrative arrangements for the delivery of these supports and it is expected that they will be open for applications from survivors in the coming weeks.

With regard to pensions, it is acknowledged that some survivors have sought the provision of a pension-type payment similar to that provided to survivors of the Magdalen Laundries, and this matter was discussed in detail during the passage of the Act. However, it should be noted that those payments reflect the very particular circumstances involved, where the women were engaged, as adults, in some cases for many years, in commercial work without pay or the required social insurance contributions.