‘Discriminatory and unjust' mother and baby redress scheme has re-traumatised survivors
In her first annual report brought to Cabinet today, Patricia Carey says the eligibility criteria for redress have caused "anger and distress" to many, has re- traumatised some survivors and has created a "hierarchy of suffering'.
The scheme excludes children who spent less than 180 days in an institution; those who were "boarded-out" or fostered and people in institutions not included under the legislation, among others.
The special advocate says that those who are eligible, and who did receive redress, "have shared their strong feelings of distress and guilt" because they were accepted "while others who were in the same institution were left behind'.
Ms Carey also says that separate laws to provide enhanced health, education, and other services to survivors of abuse in residential institutions is "unfair and exclusionary" because they do not apply to survivors who were previously paid redress.
They expressed concern that those who were unable to apply under the redress scheme or who were ineligible are not included.
The Support for Survivors of Residential Abuse Bill was passed in the Dáil last month.
The special advocate report said that "sadly' many survivors and their families did not apply for redress because they were not aware of it, they missed the deadline, they were in hospital, prison or other institutions or because of mental or physical health issues.
"Given the ageing survivor population, it is unfair and exclusionary to further discriminate against those who, through no fault of their own, were unable to or unaware of previous redress schemes and this would further enforce a lack of justice for all survivors.'
The Government set up the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme with the expectation of issuing payments to around 34,000 people and health supports to 19,000 people who were in mother and baby homes, at a cost of €800 million.
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Its third implementation report about the action plan for issues related to mother and baby homes, published today, said that over 6,600 applications have been received as of June 15, 2025.
By this date, over 4,400 payments had been processed to the value of over €66 million.
Over 16,000 requests for information has also been completed under the Birth Information and Tracing Act.
'With an estimated 34,000 people eligible for this scheme, an estimated 40pc of whom live outside of Ireland, the department is conscious of the need to raise awareness of the scheme through all means possible and phase 2 of a public awareness campaign ran from October to December 2024 with a particular focus on Great Britain,' the report said.
'Further phases of the awareness campaign will be undertaken in the future.'
The Government had sought for religious bodies to contribute around €270 million to the cost of the scheme.
Only two of eight religious bodies linked to mother and baby homes offered to contribute, a report found in April.
The Sisters of Bon Secours offered €12.97 million, while the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul proposed contributing a building to the scheme.
A commission of investigation was set up in 2015 to examine homes run by the State and religious organisations where tens of thousands of unmarried Irish women were sent to have their babies.
The commission found that almost 170,000 women and children passed through the institutions from 1922 until the last one closed in 1998.
The investigation exposed the often harsh conditions and unforgiving regimes many women and children experienced in the institutions.
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Agriland
4 hours ago
- Agriland
Wales Aims to Be Tb Free by 2041 How is It Working to Achieve This
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'We've listened to the concerns raised over different aspects of bovine TB and will continue to work in partnership with the industry, as set out in our five-year delivery plan. 'This includes the work of the Technical Advisory Group, who have already provided their expert advice on specific topics. "We have made significant changes to our policy approach - the latest on inconclusive reactor policies was announced in May." The new "farmer-led" TB Programme Board is also now in place with governance arrangements complete, the Welsh Government said. According to the latest survey of agriculture and horticulture in Wales, over 90% of the land area is given over to farming. The landscape, soil quality and climate of Wales limit the use to which its land can be put. Most of Wales is hilly or mountainous and this, combined with relatively poor soil quality and a wet climate, means that much of the land is restricted to the grazing of sheep and cattle. 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Following the recent announcement of new changes, NFU Cymru, the organisation representing farmers in Wales, said that 'while improvements to partnership working and targeted revisions to government bovine TB policy are encouraging, further significant change is still needed to rid Wales of this terrible disease'. 'NFU Cymru continues to call for a comprehensive eradication strategy that deals with this disease wherever it exists.'
Irish Independent
9 hours ago
- Irish Independent
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Irish Independent
9 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘Absolutely devastated' – Bovine TB found on Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat Farm
The TV presenter wrote on X that a pregnant cow has contracted the disease on the farm near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. In a post on X, Clarkson wrote: 'Bad news from Diddly Squat. We've gone down with TB. 'Everyone here is absolutely devastated.' Asked in the comments about the prize bull called Endgame, which Clarkson bought recently for £5,500 featured in the latest series, he said: 'His test was 'inconclusive'. I couldn't bear it if we lost him.' He later wrote: 'The offending animal is pregnant with twins.' We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content Clarkson also clarified the disease is Bovine TB, which does not affect people but 'just our poor cows'. Cattle which fail a TB test, or animals that have inconclusive results for two consecutive tests, and are classed as 'reactors', must be isolated then to slaughter. Bovine TB is recognised as a problem which devastates farm businesses, spreading from badgers to cattle, and from cow to cow. Badger culling has long been a part of the Government response to the disease, despite criticism from wildlife and animal welfare campaigners. The Government last month said it will not be extending the badger cull and retains its commitment to end the practice before the next election. Oxfordshire is an 'edge area' for TB, meaning it is a buffer zone between high risk and low risk areas – so most herds are subject to six monthly TB tests by default. There have been several cases in the area of Oxfordshire near to Diddly Squat Farm in recent weeks, according to ibTB, a mapping platform for the disease in England and Wales.
