'Not proportionate to the magnitude of suffering' - Mother and Baby redress scheme criticised

The Mother-and-Baby Institutions Payment Scheme has now opened for applications which will provide health supports and financial payments for those who are eligible.

The scheme aims to acknowledge the traumatic experiences and circumstances of women and their children who spent time in these institutions.

However, parts of the scheme have been openly criticised as an estimated 24,000 survivors have been excluded from the redress.

The scheme states that there is a six-month stay requirement to ensure that all eligible children, including children who were adopted, boarded out and fostered, were resident in a relevant institution.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission have said this period of time is not an indicator of how much harm a child has suffered, especially when taking into account the forced separation from its mother.

Holly Cairns, leader of the Social Democrats, has labelled this requirement a "red herring" and an attempt to lower the amount of compensation.

Another part of the scheme that has been criticised states that a person must have been a resident in a relevant institution for 180 days to be entitled a health support payment or eligible for a full medical card.

Calls have also been made for the removal of the rule which excludes mothers who were resident in an institution for less than six months.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Holly Cairns said:

"This isn't some kind of charitable donation by the Government. This is something that people are entitled to because of the outrageous crimes that were committed against people.

"And these people don't get any recognition of the crimes that were committed against them, and I don't think there's any excuse for that", adding that the compensation "is not proportionate to the magnitude of the suffering for people."