Residential Institutions
Seanad Éireann — 2025-10-14
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Sarah O'Reilly (AON), Agricultural Panel

This response is not good enough. While I understand the legal and financial limits, I would argue the State still has the ability to act to support these people. Their requests are small and practical. A contributory pension and a HAA card do not require reopening redress schemes. There are existing supports that could be made available to people who have clearly been failed by the State. It is not generous to give a contributory pension to people who are victims of forced labour; it is the bare minimum.
To say the scheme is closed and to do nothing risks repeating the same failure. These people endured abuse, often without family support, and now face old age without proper assistance. There are social protection and welfare mechanisms that could be used to help them. For example, in 2021 and 2022, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, transferred unused funds that had been allocated to schemes for Traveller and Roma communities and Magdalen laundry redress. He allocated €1.1 million to various LGBTQ+ initiatives. Are there potentially any unspent funds that could be allocated to ensure these survivors receive HAA cards and contributory pensions? I ask the Minister and Government to look at what they can do to address this situation.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-10-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:13+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-10-14