I propose to take Questions Nos. 345 to 347, inclusive, together.
To date, just over €32.4m has been paid in lump sum payments to 808 applicants to the Magdalen Laundries Restorative Justice Ex-Gratia Scheme.
The scheme provides a once off lump sum tax free payment which varies from €11,500 to €100,000 depending on length of stay in a relevant institution, a pension type payment equivalent to the value of the State Pension (Contributory) paid at State pension age and, an enhanced medical card pursuant to the Redress for Women Resident in Certain Institutions Act, 2015. Applicants who have not yet reached State pension age may qualify for a pension type payment of €100 per week to bring them to a weekly income of that amount at a minimum.
Officials from within the relevant Government Departments deal with the various aspects of the Scheme so there is no additional costs associated with staff or premises.
The staff of the Implementation Unit in my Department continue to engage with the Magdalen women and advise them on all aspects of the application process and their other entitlements.
All services are being provided on a cross Departmental basis, for example, all pension entitlements and advice is provided by a nominated person in the Department of Social Protection and all health services including counselling is provided by the HSE in accordance with the 2015 Act and those Departments are best placed to provide the costs associated with those services. The Citizens Advice Bureau is available to all citizens and provides advice on a range of issues including housing. Justice John Quirke in devising the Magdalen Ex-Gratia Scheme considered the women’s lack of Education and their living conditions in the criteria he determined to be relevant in the calculation of the amount of the ex-gratia payment.
All successful applicants to the Scheme are advised to seek legal advice prior to accepting their offer. The State pays a for that advice to a maximum amount of €500 plus VAT per applicant. To date, €511,224 has been paid in legal fees associated with the scheme.
The Review of applications where there was a dispute over length of stay in a relevant institution is being conducted by a Senior Counsel assisted by Junior Counsel. To date €1,114,028 has been paid in professional fees for that service.
The table attached sets out the status of all applications received to date and those under review.
