Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme

The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme is now open for applications. You can apply online through our dedicated portal, or apply by post using a hard copy of the form.

Christmas Arrangements

The following are the arrangements for the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme from Monday 22nd December 2025 to Friday 2nd January 2026 inclusive.

Phoneline opening hours:

The Payment Scheme Office will not issue Notices of Determination to applicants after Friday 12th December 2025. We will resume sending Notices of Determination on Monday 5th January 2026. A Notice of Determination is the decision on your application, or the outcome of your review or appeal request.

You may receive other types of correspondence from us, e.g. an acknowledgement regarding your application, or we may call you regarding your application until Friday 19th December 2025.

If you have accepted an offer from the Payment Scheme, by returning your acceptance forms before 11th December 2025, and everything is in order, you will receive your payment by Friday 19th December 2025. Otherwise, payments will start to issue again on the week commencing 5th January 2026.

In addition, An Post have notified the Payment Scheme Office that there will be no post on Monday 29 December 2025, this means that items posted on the 24 December may be delayed.

If you have any questions regarding any of the above arrangements or your application, please contact the Payment Scheme Office by using the “ask a question” facility on the portal or by calling us at +353 1 522 9992 (GMT).

For straightforward information on the application process, eligibility criteria, and institutions covered by the Payment Scheme, please see our information leaflet or for detailed information click on the tiles below. For an Irish-language copy of the information leaflet, please click here.