Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 May 2026
852. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether a formal review of the operation of the mother and baby institutions payment scheme is scheduled; and if so, the timeframe for this review. [36967/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra853. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether institutions (details supplied) will be considered for inclusion in the mother and baby institutions payment scheme as part of any forthcoming review of the scheme. [36968/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra854. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide details of any judgments, findings, or official assessments relating to institutions (details supplied) and the rationale for their exclusion from the scheme to date. [36969/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra855. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether all available documentation and survivor testimonies relating to institutions (details supplied) are being examined as part of any review of the operation of the mother and baby institutions payment scheme. [36970/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra856. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the 180-day residency requirement under the mother and baby institutions payment scheme will be examined as part of any review of the scheme. [36971/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra857. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration is being given, within any review of the mother and baby institutions payment scheme to waiving or introducing flexibility into the 180-day threshold, particularly in cases where individuals narrowly fall below the requirement but experienced comparable hardship. [36972/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra890. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if institutions (details supplied) will be included into the redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby homes. [37120/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 852, 853, 854, 855, 856, 857 and 890 together.
The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme opened for applications in March 2024. The underpinning legislation for the Payment Scheme provides for a number of reports and reviews to be produced. Section 48 of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 provides for two reviews of the operation of the Scheme, the first of which must commence within 6 months of the second anniversary of its establishment, i.e. by September 2026.
The scope of the review is prescribed in the Act. It is focused on administrative and operational delivery aspects of the Scheme. It will consider issues such as the level of uptake of the Scheme, the experience of applicants, the extent to which payments have been made and if the Scheme is achieving its purpose. I may also direct that it consider any other matter relevant to the administration of the Scheme. The legislation does not provide for the scope of the Scheme to be reviewed, so the questions raised by the deputies will not be addressed in the review. Extending the scope of the Scheme in the ways suggested would be a matter for the Oireachtas, but I can provide here the reasoning behind the eligibility decisions decided at the time of enactment by the Oireachtas.
While the review has not yet commenced, the preparatory work for it is already well underway.
The Department of Children is responsible for overseeing the administration of the Scheme. It must do this in line with the legislative scope and intent of the Act, as enacted by the Oireachtas.
The Scheme, like any such scheme, has eligibility criteria, including what institutions are included in it and time spent there. In the latter regard, the Scheme acknowledges circumstances experienced while resident in a Mother and Baby institution and the associated conditions, shame and stigma endured over a period of time. Using time spent as the deciding factor is intended to support a non-adversarial approach which avoids the need for applicants to have to bring forward evidence or prove abuse or harm. This non-adversarial approach ensures that those who spent longer periods of time in these institutions, and endured the harshest conditions, receive the highest level of support.
The six-month eligibility criterion – in place for children - was initially presented in the Commission of Investigation report and was subsequently included in the report of the interdepartmental working group which was asked to scope out the Scheme.
The Payment Scheme provides payments and health benefits to people who spent time in any of the Mother and Baby or County Home Institutions. These were 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 Act.
Chapter 2 of the Social History section of the Commission of Investigation report - www.gov.ie/en/publication/89e43-chapter-2-institutions/ - details the different types of institutions that existed and whether they could be considered Mother and Baby Institutions. St Clare's is described as an adoption society that is associated with St Joseph's, Stamullen, which is listed as a residential children's home. Temple Hill, Blackrock is referred to as being “frequently wrongly described as a mother and baby home. It was an infants’ nursery and mothers were not resident there. As a hospital, it received funding from the Hospitals Commission.” The institutions at Stamullen and Blackrock did not provide ante and post-natal facilities, and therefore they are not included in the Scheme.
While the Act lists those Mother and Baby Institutions identified by the Commission, section 49 of the Act further provides that, 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, the then Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, may insert an additional institution into the Schedule.
The Department defended two recent High Court Judicial Review applications taken under this section of the Act. Both sought the addition of institutions into the Scheme, Temple Hill Children’s Dietetic Hospital in Blackrock and St. Joseph’s Baby Home in Stamullen, Co. Meath.
Whilst the Court judgement does not direct the inclusion of any institution, its guidance in interpreting the criteria for the addition of institutions to the Payment Scheme is broad and unclear, therefore the Office of the Attorney General advised that an appeal of the judgement is necessary. This is to ensure that the Scheme can continue in its current guise and is not rendered so unclear in scope as to become unworkable.
It is acknowledged that some survivors are not eligible for the Scheme and are extremely disappointed by this. It should be noted that the Payment Scheme is just one of a large suite of actions being undertaken to respond to the legacy of these institutions under the Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions and the current Programme for Government has underlined continued commitment to its ongoing delivery. Of the seven major commitments set out in the Action Plan, six are now delivered and in place, while the seventh is well underway. Key actions include access to birth information, the services of the Special Advocate and counselling support, all already in place, as well as the ongoing development of a National Centre for Research and Remembrance.
