Mother and baby home redress
Ivana Bacik seeks statutory clarity for Philomena’s law and protection for Irish mother-and-baby-home survivors living in Britain. The Taoiseach says the Government secured British assurances on redress and welfare treatment, while Bacik raises concerns about retrospective application.
Today, a survivor of a mother and home, Rosemary Adaser, along with human rights barrister, Caoilfhionn Gallagher, were in Leinster House meeting TDs, including my Labour Party colleague, Deputy Ahern. They met with the special advocate for survivors, Patricia Carey. They are seeking clarity on Philomena's law. They want to ensure justice for mother and baby home survivors who are now resident in Britain - 13,000 people from Ireland. There are welcome guidelines in place since 9 April but survivors are still concerned that without statutory unpinning in particular that there may be an issue about the retrospective effect. They fear that 700 survivors who have already applied to the redress scheme in Ireland may lose out on benefits in England.
I raised this last year with the Taoiseach on the visit to the Dáil by Liam Conlon, the MP for Beckenham and Penge in England, who had brought forward Philomena's law in Westminster. The Taoiseach issued a joint communiqué with the British Prime Minister from the Cork summit in March on this but we just need to ensure the Government can work with the British Government to ensure clarity for the survivors.
Comment on this
There comes a time when one has to accept the bona fides of the Government on this. We have worked with Keir Starmer's Government on this.
Comment on this
We had a very good outcome on this, thankfully, when we got the British Government to agree. We are very confident that they will receive redress and that they will not be disadvantaged on receipt of redress in terms of whatever welfare or benefits they may be on in the United Kingdom. That was a good outcome of the UK-Ireland summit that we had in March. That is what we want to do.
Comment on this
It is the retrospective effect-----