Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 February 2015
85. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of women who have accepted lesser amounts than they applied for under the restorative justice scheme for the survivors of the Magdalen laundries. [5097/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra86. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applicants under the restorative justice scheme for the survivors of the Magdalen laundries who have received lesser amounts than they applied for because of inaccurate and-or missing records. [5098/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 85 and 86 together.
If an applicant receives a lump sum payment she has agreed with the assessment made by my officials and has signed an acceptance form to that effect. I can also advise the deputy that in the vast majority of cases the applicants are availing of independent legal advice with regard to accepting the offer and my department is facilitating this by providing a payment of up to €500 + VAT towards the cost of obtaining legal advice.
The processing of all applications starts off on the premise that the testimony of the applicant is correct and the officers processing the application then seek to verify the application by checking appropriate records. If there are records and they are consistent with the application, then an offer is made. If there is a discrepancy, or in cases where the religious congregations have incomplete or no record for an applicant my officials must carry out a thorough examination, checking whatever records are available from other departments, agencies and institutions to support the application. The records of the religious congregations are not regarded as decisive, they are just one factor that is taken into consideration.
In some instances, applicants will have a very clear recollection and records will be found to confirm their recollection.
In other instances applicants may have difficulty in recollecting details and may be mistaken about the institution they were in and also about the period of time they were there. This is not surprising as we could be talking about events that happened 50, 60 or 70 years ago.
The Deputy will also be aware that for cases where there is insufficient documentary evidence to make a determination as to whether an applicant was in a relevant institution and for what period of time my officials have commenced a process whereby those women are given the opportunity to meet with my officials and provide oral testimony about their time in an institution. These meetings are proving to be informative and productive.
Each application is assessed on an individual basis taking into account any available records or documents as well as the applicant's testimony. The Deputy will also be aware that if the applicant disagrees with this assessment she can avail of an internal review process and also an independent appeal process which involves a review by Ombudsman's Office.
