Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1418. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when the enhanced medical card regarding the redress scheme proposed for mother-and-baby home survivors will be issued; the services that it will cover; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41816/22]
View answer1419. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if any compensation payment will impact on pensions or affect means testing where survivors qualify for fuel allowance and other allowances regarding the redress scheme proposed for mother-and-baby home survivors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41817/22]
View answer1420. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if carers or those who have supported survivors over the years will be included in any way regarding the redress scheme proposed for mother-and-baby home survivors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41818/22]
View answer1421. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the redress scheme proposed for mother-and-baby home survivors will have any impact on the statute of limitations or the ability of survivors to pursue litigation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41819/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1418 to 1421, inclusive, together.
I am acutely aware of the sense of urgency surrounding the establishment of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme and ensuring that it is open for applications as soon as possible is a key priority for my Department.
Pre-legislative scrutiny on the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill has just concluded and I intend to bring the Bill to Government seeking publication early in the autumn term. My Department has been progressing the operational components of the Scheme alongside the required legislation and it is my hope that the Scheme will be open for applications soon after the passage of the legislation.
It is intended that the form of enhanced medical card will ensure the provision, without charge, of the following primary and community health services for those eligible:
- GP services;
- prescribed drugs, medicines, aids and appliances
- dental, ophthalmic and aural services;
- home nursing;
- home support;
- counselling;
- chiropody/podiatry; and
- physiotherapy.
As well as the above services, it is intended that cardholders will not be required to pay (i) the €100 Emergency Department statutory charge or (ii) the €80 public hospital statutory charge.
Those who are living outside of Ireland will have the choice of opting for an enhanced medical card or a once off financial payment in lieu of the card.
My Department is liaising with other relevant Government Departments to ensure that payments received from the Scheme are disregarded for the purposes of means assessment so that survivors’ entitlements to other supports are not negatively impacted.
While the intention of the Scheme is to acknowledge the experience of those who spent time in the institutions, the 22 wide-ranging measures included in the Government’s Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions have been designed, through engagement with those most affected, to respond to the priority needs and concerns identified by survivors, their families and loved ones.
Under the proposals for the Scheme, agreed by Government, in accepting a payment from the Scheme, applicants will be required to sign a legal waiver. At this point, the applicant will be aware of precisely what they are being offered under the Scheme and, up until any offer is accepted, an applicant will have the right to pursue a case through the courts. Applicants will also be entitled to avail of independent legal advice prior to making a decision on the offer. The time between the date of an application to the Scheme and the date on which an applicant receives a determination or decides not to proceed with his or her application, would not be counted for the purposes of the Statutes of Limitation if the applicant takes a case to court instead.
