Mother and baby homes group slams 'discriminatory' redress scheme

 The grounds where an unmarked mass grave containing the remains of nearly 800 infants who died at the Bon Secours mother and baby home in Tuam Co Galway from 1925-1961 rest. Picture: Laura Hutton/RollingNews.ie

A group representing survivors of mother and baby homes has written to the government saying the planned redress scheme is discriminatory and a violation of the Constitution.

The Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman previously announced the legislation for a redress scheme which is presently making its way through the Oireachtas.

The plan, however, has been widely criticised following the exclusion of a number of categories of survivors, including babies who spent under six months in the homes and those who were "boarded out". 

In a letter seen by the Irish Examiner, the Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors said: “In reality, the payments proposed to be made are in respect of time spent in the home and nothing else.

"It is accepted that in a lot of cases, these children were abused and treated badly.

"It is respectfully submitted that the arbitrary exclusion of the said two categories without any objective justification is clearly discriminatory.

“It is further respectfully submitted that the exclusion of these two categories from the payment scheme violates the Constitution because they constitute invidious discrimination."

€800m payment

The payment plan will involve 34,000 people at a cost of €800m to the taxpayer.

The concerns outlined in the correspondence by the Coalition of Mother and Baby Home survivors were sent to the former Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s office, the Attorney General, and the Minister for Children last year.

The Coalition also claimed the payment scheme “violates article 40.1 of the constitution", which guarantees that every citizen of Ireland is entitled to fair procedures.

“Mothers and babies who were in the Homes are, it is submitted, constitutionally entitled to expect that the State in framing a payment scheme for them would observe fair procedures," it said.

Survivors are concerned that the legislation may not be enacted until later in the year and the likely date for the roll-out of the scheme is even further away.

Many survivors are coming toward the end of their lives.

The Department of Children said: "It does not consider the claim that the proposed scheme will violate the constitution to be valid”.

The Taoiseach’s office said the scheme will open as soon as possible in 2023.