Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth publishes report on Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022.

Launching the report, Deputy Kathleen Funchion, Cathaoirleach of the Committee said “The General Scheme of a Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022 was referred to the Committee on 31 March 2022 for pre-legislative scrutiny. The Committee agreed to issue an open call for submissions on the General Scheme and are very grateful to those who engaged in that process. The Committee also met with a number of witnesses in public session on June 24 2022 and would like to extend a sincere thank you to them for their participation. One of the key recommendations that we, as a Committee, are calling for is that the six-month residency requirement for children must be removed, i.e. anyone who was resident in one of the institutions should be entitled to a payment, regardless of time spent therein.”

Deputy Funchion said “Since the publication of the Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, the Committee has given priority to all relevant legislation referred to it. This Bill, along with the Institutional Burials Bill and the Birth Information and Tracing Bill are key elements of the response to Mother and Baby Homes and related issues. While undertaking pre-legislative scrutiny of each of these historic pieces of legislation the Committee has endeavoured to have the voices of those directly affected heard, first and foremost. At the same time, the Committee is mindful that survivors and their advocates have been forced to tell their stories again and again, in various forums and over many years, often to be met with inaction.”

The Deputy added “As a Committee we have made recommendations that, if implemented, can provide a framework for real and meaningful action now. We urge the Minister and those involved in the implementation of the legislation to give the testimony from survivors and relevant experts contained in the report serious consideration and to implement our recommendations.”

Read the full report here

Some of the key recommendations include:

•          The six-month residency requirement for children must be removed. Anyone who was resident in one of the institutions should be entitled to a payment, regardless of time spent therein.

•          The relevant religious congregations and organisations must contribute significant finances to fund the scheme.

•          Those boarded out should be included in the scheme and entitled to redress. 

•          The waiver should be removed from the scheme.

•          The Bill must embody a trauma informed response, including trauma counselling and compensation that acknowledges the medical and science-based evidence around the harms time in the institutions was likely to cause.

Read more about the work carried out by The Joint Committee on Children,Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth