The Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 provides that those former residents who received awards from the Residential Institutions Redress Board or equivalent Court awards or settlements are eligible to apply to Caranua. This approach was taken having regard to the maximum funds available of €110 million and a potential pool of some 15,000 applicants.
Decisions regarding individual applications, including decisions regarding the eligibility of applicants, are a matter for Caranua and neither I nor my Department have any role in the process. Accordingly, I would suggest that this person contacts Caranua to clarify exactly what their eligibility status is.
Former residents who are not eligible for assistance from Caranua may be entitled to avail of services provided by other statutory bodies. Survivors can, for example, avail of the National Counselling Service operated by the Health Service Executive which offers counselling and psychotherapy services to those who have experienced trauma and abuse in childhood with priority given to survivors of institutional abuse.