Oireachtas committee recommends no cut-off date for mother and baby home redress
Children's committee chair Kathleen Funchion said that 'the six-month residency requirement for children must be removed'. File picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins
Anyone who spent time in a mother and baby home, as well as children who were boarded out, should receive State compensation, a cross-party Oireachtas committee has recommended.
The children's committee has also called for an increase in the proposed redress scheme payments and has recommended that there should be no cut-off date or limited time period for the duration of the scheme.
Members of the committee also believe that redress must also be provided in respect of all 17 harms that were identified in the consultation process and not just the four that the scheme currently covers.
Launching the report, committee chair Kathleen Funchion said: “One of the key recommendations that we, as a committee, are calling for is that the six-month residency requirement for children must be removed, i.e. anyone who was resident in one of the institutions should be entitled to a payment, regardless of time spent therein.
“As a committee, we have made recommendations that, if implemented, can provide a framework for real and meaningful action now. We urge the minister and those involved in the implementation of the legislation to give the testimony from survivors and relevant experts contained in the report serious consideration and to implement our recommendations.”
She said the bill must embody a trauma-informed response, including trauma counselling and compensation that acknowledges the medical and science-based evidence around the harms that time in the institutions was likely to cause.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach was questioned in the Dáil about an investigation into the leaking of details contained in the Mother and Baby Home Commission report ahead of its publication.
Micheál Martin said he could not provide a timeline for the completion of the investigation but said he hopes "it is sooner, and certainly before the end of the year".
