Give medical cards to all Mother and Baby Home survivors, minister urged

A spokesperson for Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman (pictured) reiterated that the Government's action plan commits to providing medical cards to those who were in mother and baby homes for six months or more. Photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Children’s Minister Roderic O'Gorman has been urged to give all survivors of mother and baby homes a medical card.

The Government has said that anyone who stayed in an institution for more than six months will now be entitled to an enhanced medical card following the publication of the mother and baby homes commission report.

However, setting a six-month minimum is too strict and will exclude many women, according to Labour TD Sean Sherlock.

Mr Sherlock said:

I believe a one-hour stay would be a more humane threshold because many women would have entered homes at 36 weeks.

"I am hearing from women who have significant gynaecological complications arising from their stay in mother and baby homes who need enhanced medical cards. They won’t be eligible if the minister applies a six-month rule.

"The government should act fairly and widen the criteria for eligibility so as not to unfairly exclude women who need these cards,” he said.

A spokesperson for Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman reiterated that the Government's action plan in response to the mother and baby homes commission report commits to providing medical cards to those who were in these institutions for six months or more.

Meanwhile, the Children's Committee has extended the deadline for written submissions from interested groups and individuals on a Bill to allow for the exhumation of remains buried on the grounds of mother and baby homes until this Friday.

The committee has already started its examination of the General Scheme of a Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill. However, some members of the committee have already raised concerns that the legislation in its current format would not allow for a coroners report to be compiled after remains are exhumed.