On the 27th of February 2024, the Irish Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman confirmed that the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme would open for applications on 20 March 2024. It is now open and applications can be made online or by post.
Minister O’Gorman noted that the Payment Scheme Office will process all applications as quickly as possible, with the first payments expected to be made in Quarter 2 of this year. The Payment Scheme will give priority to applications according to the age of the applicant, and so applications from older people will be prioritised.
The Payment Scheme is a key element of the Irish Government’s Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions.
There are three benefits available under the Payment Scheme:
- a general payment;
- a work-related payment; and
- health supports.
The level of the financial payment will depend on the amount of time spent in one of the institutions.
The health supports will be either:
- an enhanced medical card; or
- for people living outside of Ireland only, a health support payment valued at €3,000, instead of the enhanced medical card.
The enhanced medical card will entitle the holder to the following services, without charge, under the public health system in Ireland: –
- GP services;
- prescribed drugs, medicines, aids and appliances;
- dental, ophthalmic (services to help with eye diseases) and aural (hearing) services;
- home nursing;
- home support;
- counselling;
- chiropody/podiatry (feet issues); and
- physiotherapy.
Survivors will qualify for a payment based solely on proof of residency and will not need any evidence of abuse suffered at the institution.
However, even at this early stage the Payments Scheme has been publicly criticised. Dr Maeve O’Rourke who is lecturer at University of Galway lecturer, a co-director of the Clann Project and who was one of the experts appointed by the Northern Ireland Executive to work in partnership with victims and survivors of Mother and Baby and Magdalene Laundry Institutions to establish the terms of reference for a fully independent investigation into these institutions in Northern Ireland, has described the situation as “unconstitutional discrimination”. She says that the requirement by the Irish Government that an applicant to the Payments Scheme has to have been kept in one of the institutions for more than six months means that “…about two-thirds of the people still alive who were born in the institutions are not eligible at all”. Dr O Rourke added that “…we’ve actually advised people to seek legal advice. I don’t actually think this scheme will survive constitutional litigation, but that isn’t something that people should be forced to do”.
Minister O’Gorman has also announced the appointment of the former CEO of the Adoption Authority of Ireland Patricia Carey to the role of Special Advocate for Survivors. The appointment of a Special Advocate for Survivors fulfils another core commitment in the Government’s Action Plan, which recognises that the response of Irish Government to the legacy of these institutions must be directly informed by the voices of those most centrally affected.
Ms Carey will take up her role as Special Advocate from 25 March and her remit includes Mother-and-Baby Institutions, County Homes, Magdalen Laundries, Industrial and Reformatory Schools, and related institutions, and those adopted, boarded out, or the subject of an illegal birth registration.
Recent redress/payment schemes in various jurisdictions have been the subject of much criticism so it will be interesting to monitor whether this scheme faces similar challenges now it is open.
