Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
124. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she has met with the Special Advocate following her report into the mother and baby institutions payment scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13214/26]
View answerMs. 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 2025. The Report provides a comprehensive overview of the feedback which the Special Advocate has received across her entire remit and outlines in detail the issues raised by survivors as well as her recommendations to address them. The department published a response to the recommendations at the time and it is available on the department's website here - 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.
I published the first annual report for the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme on the 5th February, after laying it before both Houses of the Oireachtas. The report covers the period from the Scheme’s opening on 20 March 2024 to 31 December 2024.
I met with the Special Advocate last July, following the publication of her report and I welcome her views, as expressed to me then and in her media activity since. Since the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme began, officials in the Department have had monthly meetings with the Special Advocate to discuss operational, promotional and other aspects of the Scheme. Engagement will continue with the Special Advocate on these matters, aiming always to improve Scheme operations and communications where possible.
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.
