I propose to take Questions Nos. 478 and 480 together.
Section 4 of the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 enables additional institutions, in which children were placed and resident and in respect of which a public body had a regulatory or inspection function, to be added to the Schedule to the Act.
Since the enactment of the legislation, my Department has received correspondence from both individuals and survivor groups identifying a number of additional institutions that may be eligible for inclusion in the Schedule. Accordingly, consultations have taken place between my Department and other Departments which may have provided a regulatory function in the operation of these facilities in order to ascertain the case for their inclusion under the Act.
While inquiries have not yet been completed in respect of all institutions, I signed an order on 9 November 2004 which provided for the inclusion of 13 additional institutions in the Schedule.
Further consultations are taking place on a number of institutions and I will consider the position of these institutions when this process has been completed. As part of that consultation process my Department is exploring with the trustees-management of some institutions the possibility of a contribution being made by them towards the redress scheme.
I can assure the Deputy, however, that any decision to include an additional institution will not be made conditional on a contribution being forthcoming and the question of obtaining legal advice on such a condition does not therefore arise. Nonetheless, it is desirable to explore the issue before a final decision is made.
