Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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1464.To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps and full process involved in the mother and baby institutions payment scheme; specifically, each step undertaken from the initial application made by a survivor, up until they receive payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[35100/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I am pleased to inform the Deputy that this information about the application process is already available online. This link - www.gov.ie/en/publication/4a970-payment-scheme-key-steps/ - points the Deputy to the key steps in the process. In addition, the process is again outlined on page 4 of the information booklet about the Payment Scheme, also available online, at www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/288683/e9e5fa0f-5ea7-4b0f-bd53-6e454c5395a5.pdf

For ease of consideration by the Deputy, I also provide the detail here:

1. Your application is received by the Payment Scheme Office and we assign an Application Reference Number to it.

2. We will check your application to make sure all necessary information is filled in, and certified identification and any other necessary documents are included.

3. We will send you an acknowledgement to let you know we have received your application and to give you the Application Reference Number, which you should use if you need to contact us in relation to your application. NOTE: If any necessary information or documentation is missing, or we have a query on a specific aspect of the completed form, we will get in touch with you to follow up on missing information. Once we receive the information we need, we’ll let you know that the application is moving to the next stage.

4. Your application will be placed in the queue. Applicants will be prioritised by age and applications will be processed in age order. If you have requested that the application is prioritised because the applicant is terminally ill, these applications will be placed into a separate priority queue.

5. Once all of the above steps are complete, we will look for your records in all the databases available, and confirm the time spent in the named institution(s).

6. When the records search is complete and your dates of entry and exit from a scheduled institution or institutions have been confirmed, we will then calculate if you are entitled to any benefits under the Payment Scheme.

7. Following this, we’ll send you a document called a Notice of Determination, which will outline the decision in relation to your application and any offer being made to you.

8. You can accept the offer being made to you or, if you are not happy, ask the Payment Scheme Office to review this decision. The Scheme also has an independent appeals process if you are not happy with the outcome of a review.