Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme

If you spent time in a mother and baby home or country home institution in Ireland, you may be entitled to financial payments and health supports under the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme.

The scheme aims to acknowledge the suffering and improve the circumstances of former residents of mother and baby and county home institutions.

You can apply for the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme from 20 March 2024.

There are 3 benefits available under the scheme:

1. A general payment
2. A work-related payment
3. Health supports

To be eligible for benefits under the scheme, you need to have spent a certain amount of time in one (or more) of the Institutions covered by the scheme.

The institutions covered by the scheme are divided into 2 lists referred to as Table 1 and Table 2. You must have entered the institution on or before 31 December of the concluding year set out in Table 1 and Table 2.

If you already received a court settlement

If you have received a court settlement for time you spent in an institution(s) you can't apply for a general payment or work-related payment for the same period. However, you may still be eligible for health supports.

If the institution isn’t included in the scheme

If the institution you spent time in is not on Table 1 or Table 2, then the institution is not included in the scheme and you are not eligible.

Eligibility for a general payment

You are eligible for a general payment if you were in one of the institutions listed in Table 1 or Table 2 and:

• As a mother, you were there for at least one night, for reasons relating to your pregnancy, or the birth or care of your child
• As a child, you were there for at least 180 days

The Payment Scheme Office will use the information provided in the application form to search the institutional records available to check this.

You can find information on the general payment rates for time spent in a listed institution (pdf).

Eligibility for a work-related payment

You are eligible for a work-related payment if you were in any of the institutions listed in Table 1 for more than 90 days for reasons relating to pregnancy, or the birth or care of your child.

You can find information on the work-related payment rates for time spent in a listed institution (pdf).

Eligibility for health supports

You are eligible for health supports if you spent 180 days or more in any of the institutions listed in Table 1 or Table 2 of the institutions covered by the cheme. These health supports are either:

• An enhanced medical card, or
• For people living outside of Ireland only, a health support payment valued at €3,000, instead of the enhanced medical card

You are not entitled to any health supports if you have already received health supports under the Magdalen Restorative Justice Ex Gratia Scheme.

From 20 March 2024, you can apply through the online portal. If you are applying online, you need to create an account on the portal.

If you prefer to use a paper version of the application form, you can:

• Download a copy at gov.ie/paymentscheme or
• Request a copy of the application form by post or email from the Payment Scheme Office by:
  • Phone +353 1 522 9992 (Monday - Friday, 9am - 6pm)
  • Email info@paymentscheme.ie

You can also get the application form at your local library or Citizens Information Centre.

If you apply online, you will receive communications from the Payment Scheme Office through the online portal. If you apply by post, you will receive these communications by registered post.

If you need help completing the application form, contact the Payment Scheme Office or your local Citizens Information Centre for assistance.

Who can complete the application form?

You can fill in the application form:

• On your own behalf, or with help from a Decision-Making Assistant or Co-Decision Maker (if you have a formal arrangement in place which covers this scheme)
• As a support person who has a formal arrangement in place to act on behalf of someone who may be eligible for the scheme
• As a personal representative, on behalf of the estate of a person who died on or after 13 January 2021

What information will I have to provide?

The online application form is slightly different to the paper application form, which is divided into 5 sections, but you need to provide the same information on both.

• Section 1
  This section is for the contact details of the person completing the form. You have to indicate what capacity you are completing the form in, for example, for yourself, or as a support person.

• Section 2
  This section requires the details of the person who spent time in one (or more) of the Institutions covered by the Scheme. You need to know the name of the institution and, if you can, the estimated arrival and departure dates. If you do not know the name of the institution, you can use the Birth Information and Tracing Service.

• Section 3
  In Section 3, you have to say what benefits you are applying for. You can apply for just one benefit, for two, or for all three, subject to the amount of time spent in the institution or institutions.
  
  You also need to confirm if you, or the person you are applying for:
  - Ever received a court settlement for the same time period in the institution or
  institutions that is being applied for
  - Currently has a medical card under the Magdalen Restorative Justice Ex-Gratia
  Scheme

• Section 4
  Section 4 has checklists of the supporting documentation that must be provided with the application. This depends on who is making the application, for example, if you are applying on your own behalf, or if you are applying on behalf of a person who is deceased. You do not need to include any records showing time spent in an institution.
  
  Everyone applying to the scheme must provide certified photo ID (passport, driving licence or Public Services Card/National Security Card).
  
  At this stage in the process, you can also indicate if you need your application to be prioritised because you are terminally ill. The Payment Scheme Office will require a short letter from your medical practitioner to confirm this.
  
  I am a personal representative applying on behalf of someone who is deceased
  If you are applying on behalf of someone who is deceased, you need to include a copy of the death certificate and an additional proof of your right to act on behalf of the deceased’s estate, such as a certified Letter of Administration or Grant of Probate. Further details of the documentation needed if you are making an application on behalf of someone who is deceased is available at gov.ie.
  
• Section 5
  This section contains the declaration and signature.

What do I do when I have completed the application form?

When you have completed the application form, you should:

• Upload your required supporting documents onto the portal and submit the form (if completed online), or
• Send the completed form and any other required supporting documents to Payment Scheme Office, PO Box 13668, Waterford, Ireland

If you are having any difficulties scanning or photocopying your supporting documents, contact the Payment Scheme Office on +353 1 522 9992 and they will assist you.

If you are living abroad, you can apply in the same way as someone living in Ireland – that is, using the online application portal or by post if you prefer to use a paper form.

Or you can call +353 1 522 9992 or contact your local embassy or consulate to receive a paper copy of the form. You can find a list of Irish embassies and consulates on the Department of Foreign Affairs website.

Regardless of where you are living, the financial payments from this scheme are awarded in the same way.

The services available through the enhanced medical card cannot be used outside of Ireland. So, if you live abroad, you can apply for a health support payment valued at €3,000, instead of the enhanced medical card. If you live outside Ireland and still wish to receive an enhanced medical card (in case you return to Ireland either temporarily or permanently) you will need a Personal Public Service number (PPS). To benefit from the services offered by the enhanced medical card, you must be registered with a GP in Ireland.

1. When your application is received by the Payment Scheme Office it is given an Application Reference Number.
2. The Payment Scheme Office checks your application to make sure all necessary information is filled in, and other necessary documents are included.
3. The Payment Scheme Office lets you know they have received your application and gives you the Application Reference Number, which you should use if you need to contact them about your application.
4. Your completed application is placed in a queue. Applications are prioritised by age. If the applicant is terminally ill, the application is placed in a separate priority queue.
5. Based on the information provided in the application form, the Payment Scheme Office looks for your records in all the databases available, and confirm the time spent in the named institution(s).
6. The Payment Scheme Office calculates if you are entitled to any benefit under the Payment Scheme.
7. The Payment Scheme Office sends you a document called a Notice of Determination.

Notice of Determination

The Notice of Determination outlines the decision about your application and any offer being made to you.

When you receive the Notice of Determination, you should read it carefully. You can take up to 6 months to consider and accept or reject the benefit outlined in the document.

Signing a legal waiver for payments

If you decide to accept a general or work-related payment under the scheme, you will have to sign a legal waiver.

By signing the legal waiver, you agree that you will not take any further action against the state related to your experience.

Signing a waiver will not stop you from discussing the payment you have received from the scheme, if that is your wish.

To help you to decide if you want to take the payment and sign the waiver, you can get financial support of €500 (ex VAT) for independent legal advice.

You have to pay for legal advice but the Payment Scheme Office will reimburse you by bank transfer if you send them a copy of an invoice or receipt from a solicitor for the advice.

Payments

After you return your acceptance form, and your signed legal waiver (if applicable), the Payment Scheme Office will arrange to pay you by bank transfer as soon as possible.

For people living in Ireland, payments awarded through the Payment Scheme will not be included if your means are assessed:

• For social welfare means tested payments
• For a medical card or a GP visit card
• Under the Fair Deal Scheme

Enhanced medical card

If you have been offered and accepted an enhanced medical card, the HSE will contact you directly about it.

If you are not happy with the decision in the Notice of Determination, you can request a review. You need to do this within 60 days of receiving it.

You need to complete a Review Request Form and return it with the reasons you are requesting the review.

You can upload your completed form, along with any supporting information using the online portal, or send it by post to Payment Scheme Office. Your request must be acknowledged within 28 days.

When the review is completed, you will receive a Review Notice of Determination and information on how to accept the benefits, if applicable.

Making an appeal

When you get the Review Notice of Determination, you will also get information on your right to seek an independent appeal of this decision within 60 days. A member of an independent panel of appeals officers carry out the appeal.

The decision of the appeals officer is final. However, this may be appealed to the High Court, by either you, or the Appeals Office, on a point of law. This must be done within 28 days.

The Payment Scheme Office has published a Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Information Booklet (pdf) with details of the scheme and how to apply.

The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme: Your questions answered also explains the scheme and how it works.

If you need professional counselling support, the Health Service Executive’s National Counselling Service is available free of charge, Monday - Friday, 9.30am - 5pm.

Outside of these hours, Connect Counselling provides telephone support by a trained counsellor. This service is generally available Monday - Sunday, 6pm - 10pm on 1800 477 477.