Department of Children welcomes appeal into High Court decision over mother and baby home redress scheme 

In a judgment earlier this year, the High Court found that the decision-making process used by the minister for children, Norma Foley, in relation to the designation of the institutions was flawed. File picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by the State over a High Court ruling concerning the operation of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme.

The case was brought by survivors Marie Thornton and John Duncan Morris, who challenged the exclusion of Temple Hill in Dublin and Stamullen Mother and Baby Home in Co Meath from the redress scheme.

In a judgment earlier this year, the High Court found that the decision-making process used by the minister for children, Norma Foley, in relation to the designation of the institutions was flawed.

Justice Alexander Owens found that the minister had “erred in law” in failing to properly consider whether the institutions should be included under the scheme.

The ruling had potential implications for the operation of the payment scheme — the largest scheme in the history of the state at €800m — and raised questions about whether further institutions could fall within its scope.

The Department of Children, Disability, and Equality subsequently appealed the decision, saying that clarity from the Supreme Court was required.

Welcoming the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the appeal, a department spokesperson said the court had recognised that the matter was one of “public importance”.

It said bringing the case before the Supreme Court would help expedite the legal process and provide clarity regarding the implications of the High Court judgment.

“The certainty is to the benefit of the ongoing operation of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme and, most importantly, to survivors,” the department statement said.

The department said the State’s legal advice was clear that an appeal was necessary.

“The advice provided to the department from the State’s legal team, and supported by the Attorney General himself, was unequivocal – an appeal of the High Court judgement is necessary,” it said.

The case has the potential to impact up to 24,000 survivors who have been excluded from the process for a number of reasons, including, if they were in an institution for less than six months or where "boarded out" (fostered).

The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme was established to provide financial payments and other supports to survivors of qualifying mother and baby institutions, county homes and related settings.

The scheme followed the publication of the final report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes in 2021.

The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the appeal means the legal questions arising from the High Court judgment will now be considered by the country’s highest court.

A hearing date has not yet been set.