Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme: Who Can Apply

This section explains who can apply to the Scheme and the different ways you can make an application.

You can apply if you spent time as a mother or as a child in one of the Mother and Baby or County Home Institutions covered by the Scheme.

Whether you are eligible for payment or health supports depends on:

• the institution you were in, and
• the time period you were there.

You can complete the application yourself.

If you have a formal support arrangement, you can also be helped by:

• a Decision-making Assistant under the Assisted Decision Making Capacity Act, 2015, or
• a Co-Decision Maker under the Assisted Decision Making Capacity Act, 2015.

If an applicant applies with a Decision-making Assistant under a Self-application, the applicant most sign the application form and any other forms with require consent or decision themselves.

If an applicant applies and has a Co-Decision Maker under a Self-application, both the applicant and the co-decision maker will be required to sign the application form and any forms that require consent or a decision later in the process.

You can apply on behalf of someone else if you have a formal legal arrangement that allows you to act for them. This includes:

• a Decision-Making Representative appointed under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015;
• where an applicant is a Ward of Court
• an Enduring Power of Attorney (under the 1996 or 2015 Acts)
• where an applicant has capacity to handle their own affairs, a General Power of Attorney for the purposes of the Scheme (under the 1996 or 2015 Acts)
• a similar legal arrangement from another country

You will need to include documents that show your legal authority to act for the person.

You can apply as a personal representative if the person died on or after 13 January 2021, the date of the State apology.

You will need to include documents proving your right to act for their estate. You do not need a Grant of Probate (where there is a will) or a Letter of Administration (where there is no will) to apply to the Scheme, however you will need these to accept an offer from the Scheme. These will be requested during the final stage of the application where appropriate.

There are 44 institutions under the Scheme, listed below. You must have spent time in one or more of these institutions listed under the Scheme.

Each institution also has a concluding year. This is the last year the institution is recognised under the Scheme.

You must have entered the institution on or before 31 December of its concluding year for your time there to be included.

Table 2 – Institutions relevant for general payment and health supports (subject to time spent)

Some applications cannot be accepted under the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023.

Your application will not be eligible if:

• the institution is not one of the institutions listed in the legislation,
• the person died before 13 January 2021, or
• the period of time you are applying for is after the institution’s concluding year.

If your application is ineligible, you will receive a letter from the Payment Scheme Office explaining this. This decision is final and a review or appeal cannot be requested.

If an institution is added to the Scheme later, or if a concluding year is amended, you may be able to apply again. These are the only instances where a second application is accepted.

For estate cases, your application will be ineligible if you are not the personal representative for the deceased by way of probate or otherwise.

You do not need to have all the details before you apply.

You can provide:

• your best estimate of the dates you were in the institution, or
• the name of the institution, if you know it.

We will check your information as part of the application process. If you are unsure whether you are eligible, the Payment Scheme Office can help you understand your options.

If you are unsure which institution, you spent time in, you can still apply. If you were there as a mother, you may be able to get information by making a Data Subject Access Request, for more information see here.

If you were there as a child and were adopted or boarded out, you may be able to get information through the Birth Information and Tracing Service (linked below).

Birth information and tracing is provided under the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022. 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.

The Payment Scheme Office will also search all relevant records to help confirm your details.