Later today, the Dáil will debate the redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby homes. Like me, the Taoiseach, I know, will have received countless emails from those who are concerned that, despite public assurances, many will be excluded from the redress scheme. To quote from today's Irish Examiner article by Conall Ó Fátharta and Elaine Loughlin, the proposed scheme "heaps abuse upon abuse" because "it excludes 40% of survivors", in their words, "and denies healthcare [rights] to two-thirds". There were early overtures from the Government to my colleague, Deputy Sherlock, that the Department would provide redress to those who had spent fewer than six months in an institution, but those plans, it seems, have since been abandoned.

Will the Government make public the method used to devise the eligibility criteria for survivors and will the Taoiseach explain why that six-month limit has been retained? Given recent reports about a lack of transparency in Government strategies, this sort of transparency is owed to survivors of the mother and baby homes.

Picking up on something the Deputy said earlier, the Government is putting in place a scheme to compensate people who were residents of mother and baby homes, despite the fact that nobody has found any legal liability attached to the State in that regard. There was no question of court cases, legal strategies or any of those things. The Government decided it was the right thing to do to have a compensation scheme in this, regardless of any points of law. A commission of investigation was established and it recommended a redress scheme. There was also an interdepartmental group which recommended a redress scheme. The Government decided to go beyond that and set up a more generous and far-reaching scheme than was recommended by an independent body, and that should be recognised. I know the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, will comment on this later.