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The Journal
25-06-2025
- Health
- The Journal
Mother and Baby Home survivors feel re-traumatised by redress scheme exclusion
THE SPECIAL ADVOCATE for survivors of Mother and Baby Homes has called on the Government to stop excluding people from access to redress schemes and to their own records. Patricia Carey said survivors have told her they have been 're-traumatised' by the Government issuing apologies to them while simultaneously excluding them from redress schemes put in place for those who spent time in institutions. The mother and baby institution redress scheme was launched in March last year. To date, over €66 million in payments have been issued to survivors. Around 34,000 people are eligible to apply for redress under the scheme. However, thousands of survivors are excluded, including those who spent less than six months in an institution as a child. Carey's first annual report was published yesterday. It found that these exclusions are 'discriminatory and unjust', and that the State 'should re-examine and revise the current legislation with a view to expanding it to include those currently excluded'. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said that survivors who receive redress 'feel guilty because other's can't'. 'The only institutions that are covered are county homes and 14 mother and baby institutions. I know, and we know, that there were a network of over 180 institutions,' she said. She said there are a 'myriad of exclusions', including that children who were boarded out to work on farms unpaid when they were as young as five have never been included in any redress scheme. 'In Northern Ireland, they're going to bring in a mother and baby redress scheme where people will receive redress for one day spent. In the Republic, it's 180 days. So that has really upset people.' Access to records Carey met over 1,300 survivors of institutional abuse while writing her report. She said the 'biggest issue' that was raised with her was survivors being unable to access their own records from mother and baby institutions. The Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 was established to grants right of access to birth certificates, birth and early life information, where available, for all persons who were adopted, boarded out, the subject of an illegal birth registration, or who otherwise have questions in relation to their origins. Advertisement But Carey's report states that some survivors have been unable to access records relating to their birth and early life and care, education, health and medical records, and their placement for adoption in Ireland and abroad. 'This is due to the records being destroyed, moved, or in private or religious ownership,' the report states. Survivors have also experienced 'ongoing challenges' in finding accurate information in their search for details of family members, as well as difficulties in accessing records such as burial and death certificates for children that died in institutions. 'Three out of every five people, they're still looking for records,' Carey told Morning Ireland, adding that they are still in the hands of private and religious organisations. Both the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches, private nursing homes, religious orders, still hold records related to people's times in institutions. They have no right to hold them. They have to hand them over to the State. She said the Preservation of Certain Records Act 2024 made it a criminal offense to move or destroy records. 'I believe that the next stage of that legislation is to take in charge those records, that they are given to the National Archives and that the people they relate to have access to their own records.' Carey added that this needs to happen 'immediately'. 'We've had over 200 years of people in institutions before the foundation of the State. People are aging out of this process. I had a woman who was 78 who asked for her records and was told to contact six different organisations for her own records of the time she spent in institutions.' Carey is also calling for survivors to have access to enhanced health care, enhanced housing supports, and for the Government to include the status of 'Survivor' as a housing status application. She said this would be at no cost to the Government. 'It would mean that if somebody was making an application for housing, the same way as you would say you had a particular medical issue or a disability, you would receive extra points on the housing application waiting list. 'I believe that survivor status for those people who don't have families, who were forcibly separated from their families, or who didn't have any early life experience at a home should be given additional weighting and status on housing lists.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
24-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Many survivors distressed over eligibility requirements for Mother and Baby scheme
Eligibility requirements currently part of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme have caused anger and distress to many survivors, according to the Special Advocate for Survivors. The issue has contributed to further re-traumatisation of some, according to Patricia Carey who has published her first annual report. Ms Carey was appointed in March last year to ensure that the collective interests and voices of survivors of institutional abuse are heard and inform government actions and policies. The role encompasses Mother and Baby Institutions, County Home Institutions, Magdalene Laundries, Industrial and Reformatory School Institutions, and related institutions, and those adopted, boarded out or the subject of an illegal birth registration. During her first year in the position, the Special Advocate met with over 1,300 survivors of institutional abuse and forced family separation in Ireland and overseas. The report states that eligibility requirements have "enforced a hierarchy of suffering according to arbitrary criteria". Exclusions highlighted by survivors have included being boarded out, fostered out or placed 'at nurse' as children; survivors who died before the State Apology on 13 January 2021, preventing the families of those who have died from making an application for compensation; children who spent less than 180 days in an institution; those affected by work payments being limited to all County Homes but only two Mother and Baby Home Institutions. The report notes that many survivors deemed eligible under the current terms of the scheme and who have received redress, shared their strong feelings of "distress and guilt" in applying for and accepting redress, when others in the same institutions had been left behind. The Special Advocate has strongly recommended "the urgent expansion" of the current redress scheme. During the year it was also brought to the attention of the Special Advocate that there is a lot of misinformation surrounding the Magdalen Restorative Justice Ex-Gratia Scheme. The report notes that it is not widely known that the scheme is still open to receiving applications and that there is no time limit to apply to the scheme. The Special Advocate has called on anyone who might be eligible for this redress scheme to apply. Accessing records When it comes to accessing records and files, Ms Carey has stressed urgency in the report due to many survivors spending decades searching for information. In some instances, survivors have died before gaining access to their records. The Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 provided a right of access to original birth certificates, birth and early life and care information for people who were born in a Mother and Baby or County Home Institution, and those adopted, boarded out, the subject of an illegal birth registration, or who otherwise had questions in relation to their origins. However, the Special Advocate has heard from hundreds of Survivors and Affected Persons who do not have access to the records related to the time they spent in institutions or related to their experience of forced family separation. In some instances, survivors have been unable to access records relating to their birth and early life and care, education, health and medical records, and their placement for adoption in Ireland and abroad, due to the records being destroyed, moved, or in private or religious ownership. Survivors also expressed ongoing challenges in finding accurate information in their search for details of family members, as well as difficulties in accessing records such as burial and death certificates for children that died in institutions. The Special Advocate has noted that she receives frequent communications from survivors and their family members seeking information and records relating to relatives, often as part of decades-long searches, with some unsure if a relative died or is still alive somewhere. "This is causing ongoing pain and suffering to people seeking information and closure on their family search," according to the report. Feedback from Survivors and Affected Persons to the Special Advocate is "consistent" in relation to the difficulties in understanding where to begin looking for and accessing records. Information on where records are held and how individuals and their families can access the records related to them is not clearly available, understood or explained in plain English. The report points out that this is further exacerbated when people are based overseas and are unfamiliar with Irish state structures, as well as for people with limited literacy and for those who experience digital poverty. The report recommends more supports to access and understand the records. It is the position of the Special Advocate that the State must ensure "full access" to all records which are held in private and religious ownership. Burial and memorialisation The report has noted ongoing communications from survivors and survivor groups to the Special Advocate in relation to the need for dignified burial and the sensitive treatment of mass graves, unmarked graves and sites of burial across institutions in Ireland. "This subject continues to cause immense distress, pain and upset to Survivors and Affected Persons who lack information and either a place of burial or a space for remembering family members," according to the report. Many have emphasised the pressing need for Government to investigate the children that died in Mother and Baby Institutions and to establish as much information about the location of burial sites at these institutions as possible, including access to professional expertise and survey work, as appropriate. Ms Carey recommended including Survivors and Affected Persons in all the decision-making about the National Centre for Remembrance. The Department of Children has announced the National Centre Steering Group would be expanded to include four survivor representatives. Housing Another concern raised in the annual report relates to housing. The report says that good quality, affordable social housing is critical to survivors being fully supported to remain living in their own homes for as long as possible. A significant percentage are residing in or are on waiting lists for social housing and live in areas of social deprivation. A major concern centres around secondary institutionalisation in later life in nursing or care homes. Therefore, Ms Carey has said it is critical that survivors have access to good quality, affordable social housing and are fully supported to remain living in their own homes for as long as possible.
Irish Post
23-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Post
Families in Britain urged to come forward as Tuam exhumation work begins
THE Office of the Director of Authorised Interventions at Tuam (ODAIT) is set to begin work this summer on exhuming the remains of children who were buried in underground chambers on the grounds of the former Mother and Baby institution in Tuam, Co. Galway. These chambers were previously part of a sewage system, and the institution operated from 1925 to 1961. The intervention follows two years of preparation and planning due to the sensitive and complex nature of the work. A shrine and garden at the site of the mass burial plot in Tuam The aim of the intervention is to restore dignity in death and, where possible, to identify those believed to have died while resident in the institution. ODAIT will recover the remains from what has been described by the Commission of Investigation as an inappropriate burial site, and, if identification is possible, offer dignified reburial in accordance with the wishes of family members and survivors. Identification will rely on DNA samples from people who believe they may be related to those buried at the site. ODAIT has stated that this process will be 'challenging due to the young age of the children at death, the elapse of time since their death, the environmental conditions in Tuam and the likely small number of close relatives who can provide samples'. To support this process, the agency is currently appealing for people to come forward who know or suspect they had a relative who died while resident in the Tuam Mother and Baby institution. Initially, ODAIT is prioritising the collection of DNA from elderly and/or vulnerable individuals who may not be in a position to wait for the general phase of the Identification Programme to begin due to concerns about their age or health. Those eligible to provide DNA samples under the legislation include (but may not be limited to): child, parent, sibling, half-sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, half-niece, half-nephew, grandniece or grandnephew. Further information is available at the ODAIT website or by contacting the office at [email protected] or by phone at 00353 1 539 1777. The work at Tuam forms one element of a broader set of measures announced by the Government as part of the Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions, published in November 2021. Two additional key supports include: Access to birth information, now available under the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022, which provides a clear right of access to birth certificates and early life records for all those who were adopted, boarded out, nursed out, or affected by illegal birth registration. More details are available at The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme, which offers financial payments and enhanced health supports to eligible individuals in recognition of the circumstances they experienced while resident in these institutions. To learn more or apply, visit For those living in Britain who have been affected by the Mother and Baby and County Home system in Ireland, support is available through the following organisations: The National Response Line (London Irish Centre): 0800 519 5519 Coventry Irish Society: 0247 625 6629 Fréa – Renewing Roots: 07432 138 682 If you live in Britain and are affected by any aspects of Mother and Baby and County Homes in the Republic of Ireland you can contact; The National Response line 0800 519 5519; Tuesday to Thursday 10am-4pm (The London Irish Centre), 0247 625 6629 (Coventry Irish Society) or 07432 138 68 See More: Exhumation, Galway, Irealnd, Mother And Baby Homes, Tuam
