Mother and Baby Homes Payment Scheme
The Act has now passed all stages of the legislative process and was signed into law by President Michael D Higgins. Below we have provided details as they apply to the community. The Payment Scheme is described in detail, and many frequently asked questions concerning the scheme are answered below.
Redress scheme for Mother and Baby Homes survivors
The approved Government Proposals for the Mother and Baby Homes Payment Scheme were published on November 16, 2021. This followed the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into the Mother and Baby Homes which was posted on the 12th of January 2021.
The Scheme provides for a general payment that increases will increase based on the length of stay at the Institution. Additional payments will also be paid to mothers who carried out commercial work while in the Institution.
This will also apply to young mothers who were under 18 during their stay. There is also a provision for a medical card, and the application for redress can be made at the same time.
How can Coleman Legal help?
- Coleman Legal LLP is currently gathering information from survivors that will assist in processing your applications for Mother and Baby Homes Redress Scheme.
- We will support you in accessing your historical records. (This is likely to be a key requirement)
- We will consult and assist in preparing all necessary documentation related to the mother and baby homes payment scheme
- Where relevant, we will assist in highlighting elderly or ill applicants to the attention of the redress board who are positioned to facilitate expedited applications where necessary.
- We will keep you informed of the latest developments in the scheme as they arise by way of a newsletter.
Mother and baby homes payment scheme details
The compensation amounts published in the scheme set out a starting figure for a redress of €5,000.
This amount* would apply to all mothers who were residents for up to 89 days in the institution, with the amount going up to €12,500 for those with at least 180 days residency and so on.
These amounts would go up if a commercial work payment were to be applied**
All of our clients receive a monthly newsletter which keeps our clients up to date on the events. We will apprise all of our clients of any developments as they arise.
It should be noted that while the schemes announcement will be welcome news for many, there are still a large number of the community who have been excluded.
These are adoptees who spent less than 180 days residency and those from a small number of institutions that have been left off the list for redress.
This is despite widespread calls for the inclusion of those with less than 180 days residency and those from the below institutions*
*see link below setting out the amounts on offer in the scheme
**This is on a case-by-case basis depending on the nature of work undertaken, the duration of the residency and the institution concerned. Contact us now to see if you are eligible for the additional minimum of €1,500 (and up to €60,000 depending on the duration of your stay at the institution).
Medical cards for survivors
The Government has advised that an enhanced medical card will be provided to all who were residents in a Mother and Baby Home or County Home for six months or more. Those living abroad will have the option to accept a one-off payment of €3,000 in lieu of a medical card if they so wish
List of institutions eligible for the Redress Scheme
Mother and Baby Homes investigated by the Commission:
| Location | Other names |
| Carlow | Sacred Heart Home and Hospital, Carlow |
| Cavan | St. Felim’s County Home and Hospital, Cavan |
| Clare (Ennis) | St. Joseph’s Hospital, Ennis |
| Cork (City) | Cork County Home and District St. Finbarr’s |
| Cork (Midleton) | Our Lady of Lourdes Home, Midleton |
| Cork (Clonakilty) | Mount Carmel Home, Clonakilty |
| Cork (Fermoy) | St. Patrick’s Hospital, Fermoy |
| Donegal (Stranorlar) | St. Joseph’s Home, Stranorlar |
| Dublin (St. Kevin’s Institution) | Initially the Dublin Union; |
| Galway (Loughrea) | St. Brendan’s Home, Loughrea |
| Kerry (Killarney) | St. Columbanus Home, Killarney |
| Kildare (Athy) | St. Vincent’s Hospital, Athy |
| Kilkenny (Thomastown) | St. Columba’s County Home, Thomastown |
| Laois (Mountmellick) | St. Vincent’s Hospital, Mountmellick |
| Leitrim (Carrick-on-Shannon) | St. Patrick’s Home, Carrick-on-Shannon |
| Limerick (Newcastlewest) | St. Ita’s Home, Newcastlewest |
| Limerick (City Home and Hospital) | St. Camillus Hospital, Limerick |
| Longford | St. Joseph’s Hospital, Longford |
| Mayo (Castlebar) | Sacred Heart Home, Castlebar |
| Meath (Trim) | St. Joseph’s Home, Trim |
| Monaghan (Castleblayney) | St. Mary’s Hospital, Castleblayney |
| Offaly (Tullamore) | St. Vincent’s Hospital, Tullamore |
| Roscommon | Sacred Heart Home, Roscommon |
| Sligo | St. John’s Hospital, Sligo |
| Tipperary North (Thurles) | Hospital of the Assumption, Thurles |
| Tipperary South (Cashel) | St. Patrick’s Hospital, Cashel |
| Waterford (Dungarvan) | St. John’s Hospital, Dungarvan |
| Westmeath (Mullingar) | St. Mary’s Hospital, Mullingar |
| Wexford (Enniscorthy) | St. John’s Hospital, Enniscorthy |
| Wicklow (Rathdrum) | St. Colman’s, Rathdrum |
Mother and Baby Homes investigated by the commission
| St Patrick’s / Pelletstown, Navan Road, Dublin 7 |
| The Tuam Children’s Home, Tuam, Co. Galway |
| Bessborough Mother and Baby Home, Cork |
| Manor House Castlepollard |
| Sean Ross Abbey |
| Árd Mhuire Dunboyne |
| Bethany Home, Dublin |
| Denny House, Dublin |
| Miss Carr’s Flatlets, Dublin |
| The Regina Coeli Hostel, Dublin |
| The Castle Newtowncunningham, Co. Donegal |
| The County Clare Nursery, Kilrush, Co. Clare |
| Belmont Flatlets, Dublin |
| St. Gerard’s, Dublin |
Exclusion to the mother and baby homes payment scheme – adoptees (less than 180 days)
One of the main issues that have caused considerable upset and distress is the exclusion of infants who spent less than 180 days in a particular institution.
This is despite widespread calls to drop the restriction.
The Mother and Baby Homes Redress scheme dealt a serious blow to adoptees and children residents of these institutions. In the Act there is a residency requirment that all adoptees must have been resident for 180 days or more to be eligible. The rates will be the same for the mothers once the residency requirement is satisfied.
It should be noted that Coleman Legal LLP continue to advance legal cases before the Courts in relation to this arbitrary restriction. We continue to keep our excluded clients updated by way of a newsletter that is sent out when appropriate.
Unfortunately, redress at this time is not being extended beyond that to other institutions not included in the list. See the link for a list of the institutions. List of institutions eligible for the scheme.
Despite the Oireachtas joint committee recommending that the list of institutions be expanded to include;
- St. Patrick’s Guild
- Temple Hill
- St Josephs/St Clare’s – Stamullen
- West Bank – Greystones
Of further concern in the Act is the exclusion of those residents who died prior to the 13th of January 2021. This is also a cause of concern for many people.
The report into the mother and baby homes was commissioned in 2015 and it is our belief that the scheme should cover those people who are alive at the time of the commissioning of the report. This has all been set out in a previous submission to the minister which was roundly endorsed by the Oireachtas but yet again, the Minister refused to make these reasonable changes to the Bill (now the 2023 Act).
To speak with one of our mother and baby homes redress solicitors, call (Free Phone) 1800 844 104 or complete our online enquiry form.
Support Groups
If you are a former resident of a mother and baby home, you are entitled to free counselling under the National Counselling Service, operated under the auspices of the HSE. Click here to see the geographical locations of your nearest counselling service. Counselling can also be arranged over the phone. More information is available at this link or those who are residents of the UK, below are several support organisations that may be able to help you;
Irish Community Services
- Phone: 0208 854 4466
- Website: irishcommunityservices.org
Leeds Irish Health and Homes
- Phone: 0113 262 5614
- Website: lihh.org
ICAP (Immigrant Counselling and Psychotherapy)
- Phone: 0207 272 7906
- Website: icap.org.uk
The London Irish Centre
- Phone: 0207 916 2222
- Website: londonirishcentre.org
For anyone resident in the US, please see the link below to local Irish immigration centres;
Find Your Local Irish Center | Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers (ciic-usa.org)
Choosing a solicitor
Q: Do I need a solicitor
Every applicant to the mother and baby homes payment scheme is entitled to seek assistance from their chosen solicitor in respect of the redress scheme. All applicants will need a solicitor as part of the finalisation of an application/acceptance of an award. This comes in the form of legal advice for executing a valid legal waiver and assistance with a decision to accept or reject an award. In addition, this advice will include information about your right to bring a legal case in connection with your time in the institution and and how those rights will be affected if you decide to accept the award of redress.
Those accepting payments under the Scheme will be asked to sign a legal waiver stating that they will not then pursue the State through the courts. It is important that all applicants to the Scheme obtain legal advice regarding the implications of the legal waiver.
How we can help you?
Coleman Legal LLP has been working with many clients over the past six years who have been resident in Mother and Baby Homes and County Homes, both as mothers and as children.
We are currently liaising with our clients on the Act and the unfortunate restrictions that exist in the scheme. In particular, those who are not eligible to the scheme are in contact with us and awaiting the outcome of our legal challenges which seek to widen the scheme for all concerned.
All former residents of the mother and baby homes both eligible and ineligible are encouraged to make contact with us and for any that have not yet filled out paperwork, we encourage you to do so.
This will allow us to get your paperwork ready so that no time is wasted when the scheme opens. We will prepare your application to the Scheme on your behalf and submit it to the State body administering it.
Applications & Documents
It is also important to note that if you wish to take up a copy of any records from your time in the institution you can do so by contacting Tusla at this link
Contacted us at:
Coleman Legal LLP
Solicitors
84 Talbot Street, Dublin 1
D01 YX60
DX 112002
Contact Details:
Free Phone: (1800)844104
Fax: (01) 5312727
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.colemanlegalpartners.ie
Online Enquiry Form: Apply
Request a Callback
Tell us about your case
Norman Spicer
Senior Solicitor
(1800) 844 104
[email protected]
”Norman Spicer is the lead solicitor assisting members of the survivor community with all matters surrounding the mother and baby homes redress and adoption.”