Taoiseach's pledge on delayed mother and baby home redress 'hard to believe'

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the development of the redress scheme is a key Government priority and said Mr O'Gorman will be bringing measures to Cabinet "shortly". Picture: Leah Farrell

The Taoiseach has promised that a delayed redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby homes will be brought to Cabinet in the coming weeks.

However, Micheál Martin's promise has been dismissed as hard to believe, after the Dáil heard that survivors are becoming "anxious, worried, and vulnerable with each passing day".

Independent TD Catherine Connolly said Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman had said back in January that the scheme would be drawn up by the end of April.

"Again in July, we were told that the interdepartmental group had effectively completed its work, but there was still no sign of the report. Then we were told it would be in the early part of the new term. We are now in the middle of the new term, and there is not a sign of the report," she told the Dáil.

Ms Connolly said those impacted have been waiting patiently for the Government's action, but "notwithstanding their courage and fortitude, former residents of mother and baby homes are becoming more anxious, worried, and vulnerable with each passing day, not to mention angry".

'Duty to act expeditiously'

"The Government has a duty to act expeditiously, in particular given the background and delay to date."

The Taoiseach said the development of the scheme is a key Government priority and said Mr O'Gorman will be bringing measures to Cabinet "shortly".

"There are consultations with the leaders of the parties now, and with the other ministers, and I expect that this will be brought before Cabinet fairly quickly now, within the next number of weeks, if not sooner."

Responding, Ms Connolly welcomed the fact that the Taoiseach promised a scheme in the coming weeks "but I have heard that since January so I ask him to forgive my reluctance to believe that".

Separately, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald pressed the Taoiseach about the details of a series of planned roadshows to entice international capital.

She said Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael "have bent over backwards for cuckoo funds", and said ministers Darragh O’Brien and Paschal Donohoe "are looking to dust off the red carpet again and roll it out for these funds".

However, the Taoiseach said Ms McDonald's attempts to portray Government policy as being "almost exclusively about institutional investors are very wide of the mark, disingenuous and dishonest".

Energy supply concerns

Labour leader Alan Kelly said he is very concerned about electricity and energy supplies over the coming months.

"In September, I asked the Taoiseach if he would guarantee he could keep the lights on. He could not answer that question. Two months later I asked him the same question," said Mr Kelly after raising the fact that Equinor has pulled out of a €2bn wind farm deal with the ESB.

Mr Martin responded by stating that Ireland has a "strong record as a country" with regard to the security of the electricity supply.

"We are doing everything that we possibly can to ensure security not just this winter but more critically for next winter and the winter beyond. This is a challenge across Europe," he told the Dáil.