Last week, on 5 February, the first annual report of the mother and baby institutions payment scheme was quietly released. It had been completed in June 2025 and relates to the year 2024. It had gathered dust on the desk of the Minister, Deputy Foley, for seven months. I had asked the Minister a number of times in parliamentary questions why the report had been delayed.

The special advocate, Patricia Carey, expressed strong criticism last week when the report was released. She said that the scheme is not achieving its goal of speedy, easy and trauma-informed access to redress for survivors and affected persons. She also pointed to the many failures of the redress scheme since its launch in March 2024. She further pointed to the fact that the redress scheme has spent less than 10% of its budget. Survivors have talked about arbitrary and narrow eligibility criteria and an unwieldy nine-step application process. Patricia Carey has called for the expansion of the scheme. Will the Tánaiste indicate whether this matter will be addressed and whether they scheme will be amended?