The Government must remove the unnecessary red-tape blocking survivors from accessing much-needed redress payments, Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh has said.
Less than 10% of the redress budget has been spent after two years of the scheme being in operation, with an estimated underspend of €68.5 million in 2025. According to survivors, this is due to operational issues with the payment scheme, poor promotion and advertising, and unjustifiable exclusions from the scheme.
MEP Maria Walsh, who has met with Special Advocate for Survivors Patricia Carey on several occasions, is calling on the Government to introduce measures such as a free-call phone number as well as free-post options for communication. MEP Walsh is also urging the Government to address the digital literacy and poverty difficulties which prevent some from applying to the scheme.
Maria Walsh MEP, a full member of the European Parliament’s Gender Equality Committee, said:
“When survivors have received less than 10% of the redress budget in almost two years, we have a clear problem. Despite the best of intentions, the Mother and Baby Payment Scheme is not working. The reasons why survivors are not receiving the compensation they are rightfully entitled to are not a secret, they are well documented and must be resolved.
“Applicants to the scheme face long waiting times, poor levels of service from an outsourced call centre, payment delays and financial barriers to applying. These challenges are compounded by digital literacy and poverty issues faced by many survivors.
“This scheme is riddled with red-tape and inefficiencies. Its design is inconsistent with trauma-informed care, and risks inflicting further pain upon those who have already suffered at the hands of the Irish State and Catholic Church.
“However, there are solutions to these problems which the Government must urgently act on. Survivors should have access to a free-call phone number for any queries they may have, as well as free-post options for documentation or records they submit. On top of this, the digital literacy challenges must be accounted for within the application process, and an extended advertising campaign should be launched in Ireland and overseas to ensure all those who are eligible to apply can do so.
“Having previously worked on the Dublin Honours Magdalene event, I have heard first-hand the lived- experiences of the survivors of the Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby Homes and the Residential Institutions. I have listened to them recount how they were told they were ‘dirty’ as children, of the traumas that have never left their minds or bodies. Our shameful past cannot continue into modern-day Ireland – justice must be served for all who we failed.”