Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme: About Us, Background, and Legislation

This section outlines the background and legal framework that supports the Scheme, identifies the people responsible for administering and overseeing the Scheme, and provides key statistics and reports on the Scheme.

The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act was signed into law on 11 July 2023 and regulations to allow the Scheme to operate were signed on March 2024.

Some further information, including the Act, the Regulations and the Payment Scheme Ministerial Guidelines, is available at the links below:

• Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023
• Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 (Commencement) Order 2024
• Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 (Establishment Day) Order 2024
• Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 (Reviews) Regulations 2024
• Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 (Appeals) Regulations 2024
• Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 (Financial Support in respect of Legal Costs and Expenses) Regulations 2024
• Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 (section 49(4)) Regulations 2024
• Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 (section 49(4)) Regulations 2025

This law describes:

• who can apply;
• the institutions covered;
• how payments and supports are decided;
• the establishment of the Office of the Chief Deciding Officer;
• your rights as an applicant.

The Department publishes privacy and data protection policies. These explain:

• what information is collected;
• why it is collected;
• how long it is kept;
• who it may be shared with;
• how you can exercise your rights.

You can read these policies for more detail on how your information is handled here.

Your information is only used for purposes related to the Scheme. This includes:

• processing your application;
• checking the records needed to confirm your time in an institution;
• issuing payments or supports you may be entitled to.

Your information will only be used in relation to your application or where there is a legal requirement for the Payment Scheme Office to share.

Your data is protected under data protection law. This means it must be:

• kept secure;
• used only for lawful reasons;
• handled fairly and transparently;
• stored only for as long as necessary.

The Department of Children, Disability and Equality is responsible for protecting your information. More information can be found here.

There are two ways to ask for information held by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality about the Payment Scheme:

• Subject Access Request (SAR): This is used when you want your own personal information.
• Freedom of Information (FOI) request: This is used when you want official records, such as policies, statistics or documents, that are not just about you personally.
• Birth Information and Tracing Act: This legislation gives people a legal right to access their birth certificate and available records about their birth, early life, care history, and medical information. It applies to people who were adopted, boarded out, had an illegal birth registration, or spent time as children in Mother and Baby or County Home Institutions. Applications can be made here.

If you want official Department records (not just your personal data), you can make an FOI request.

To do this, email or write to:

Freedom of Information Officer
Department of Children, Disability and Equality
Block 1, Miesian Plaza
50–58 Baggot Street Lower
Dublin, D02 XW14

• Email: foiequality@dcde.gov.ie
• Additional info on website: Freedom of Information (FOI)

The Department of Children, Disability and Equality is the data controller for all information held by the Payment Scheme. To access personal information held by the department see the below application form:

When you deal with the Department or the Payment Scheme Office, you have legal rights under EU (GDPR) and Irish data protection law. Your main rights include:

• Right to access: You can ask for a copy of the personal information held about you. You may need to confirm your identity. Requests are usually answered within one month.
• Right to correct information: If any personal information held about you is wrong or incomplete, you can ask for it to be corrected.
• Right to erasure (right to be forgotten): In some cases, you can ask for your personal data to be deleted. However, records linked to the Payment Scheme must be kept for legal and archival reasons.
• Right to restrict processing: You can ask for limits to be placed on how your personal data is used while an issue is being reviewed. • Right to object You can object to the use of your personal data in certain circumstances. Each objection is assessed on its own merits.
• Right to complain: If you are unhappy with how your data is handled, you can contact the Department’s Data Protection Officer (DPO). You can also complain directly to the Data Protection Commission (DPC).

How to exercise your rights

You can make a request or raise a concern by contacting the Department’s Data Protection Office, either by email or writing to:

Data Protection Unit

Department of Children, Disability and Equality

Block 1, Miesian Plaza

50–58 Baggot Street Lower

Dublin, D02 XW14

Email: dpocontact@dcde.gov.ie

The Scheme is run by the Office of the Chief Deciding Officer of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme, within the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. This office is known as the Payment Scheme Office.

The Payment Scheme Office is responsible for:

• receiving and processing applications;
• communicating with applicants throughout the process;
• carrying out checks and searching records;
• making decisions on applications;
• issuing payments and supports;
• promoting public awareness of the Scheme.

The Payment Scheme Office is led by a Chief Deciding Officer, Ms. Gillian Martin. The Office includes a team of staff from the Department and third party support, provided under contract by a company called RelateCare. Both operate under the direction and supervision of the Chief Deciding Officer.

You can contact us:

• by post at PO Box 13668, Waterford, Ireland,
• by freephone from the Republic of Ireland on 1800 843 354
• by phone from abroad on +353 1 522 9992

Opening hours 9am to 6pm GMT, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays)

If you applied online, you can also contact us through the online portal.

We also have an email for general queries: info@paymentscheme.ie

In designing the Payment Scheme, Government agreed proposals informed by a variety of inputs and sources including an Interdepartmental Group consultation with survivors and former residents and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC).

A General Scheme was then published. Further information is available in the documents linked below:

On 8 April 2025, Minister Foley published a report by independent negotiator Sheila Nunan. The report explains negotiations with religious organisations linked to Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions.

Ms Nunan was asked to seek financial contributions from these organisations towards the cost of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme.

The report is broken up into 3 parts:

Information about the Scheme is published regularly. This includes Monthly Statistics and Annual Reports, both of which can be found here.

For key documents provide detailed information on how the Payment Scheme works, including its rules, processes and legal basis, please see here.