People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith says continued refusal to engage with survivors or force payment from religious orders “compounds insult of Commissions report” Reacting to the news that the Cabinet has signed off on a redress scheme, People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith said: “The government is still not listening to Mother & Baby Home survivors.

Survivors only learnt from the morning news that the redress is signed off by the government. In the afternoon, the government emails survivors as an afterthought.”   The TD went on to say: “Calls for redress for those in institutions less than 6 months as babies have been ignored. Despite many suffering psychological trauma from neglect, vaccine trials or forced adoption/family separation. The government has ignored all trauma expertise regarding these babies’ first months of life. “Boarded Out’ and ‘Nursed Out’ children were often sent to unfit families. Many of them were used as child labour and abused. They are excluded from redress.” She added: “40% of survivors will not get any redress. Those that do will receive redress that is less than Magdalene Laundries and Child Abuse survivors’ redress. Despite inflation and lifelong trauma from experiences. It would appear the government still sees ‘unmarried mothers’ and their children as second-class citizens and unworthy of proper redress. €5,000 for a girl being tied to a bed in labour for 16 hours with no pain relief while her baby is eventually stolen from her, and adopted, does not acknowledge the grave human rights injustice. Nor does it acknowledge the shame, fear and forced incarceration. The government is also ignoring the lifelong trauma of family separation.” The TD also noted that religious orders where still not contributing to the scheme as presently designed: “Religious Orders have not agreed to pay redress and the government is not insisting they do. Redress is now kicked into next year while more survivors die.  The government must ensure all survivors get redress that recognises the grave human rights violations that this government’s predecessors stood over.” Deputy Smith will raise the Mother and Baby Homes Report and Redress with Minster O’Gorman this morning in the Dáil.