Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 March 2019
137. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to accommodate bona fide survivors who were deemed ineligible for Caranua support services on the basis that they did not receive redress board or court awards or settlements with religious orders in the first instance. [14437/19]
View answerUnder Section 3 of the 2012 Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act, eligibility for assistance from the Fund is confined to those former residents of scheduled institutions who received awards from the Residential Institutions Redress Board or similar awards or settlements in court proceedings and who would otherwise have received an award from the Redress Board. The Residential Institutions Statutory Fund is a limited fund and an eligibility review on widening access to the Fund concluded that the Fund was going to be fully utilised by the survivors it was designed to reach. There isn't an alternate Fund for other survivors who were not eligible to avail of Caranua's support services. However ,there are services that all survivors can avail of and this includes the HSE's counselling service which offers face-to-face appointments and is a nationwide service.
I am conscious that access to mainstream services including the type of community and welfare supports provided by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the housing supports provided by the local authorities should be made as easy as possible for survivors. My Department is leading on an inter-Departmental group which is examining how existing State services can best meet the needs of survivors into the future. It will be informed by survivors experiences of mainstream services and their views.
