Information for Applicants Living Outside of Ireland, including in Northern Ireland

If you are living outside of Ireland, including in Northern Ireland, and think that you may be eligible for the Payment Scheme, you can apply in the same way as someone living in Ireland – via the online portal or by post, if you’d prefer to use a paper form. Further information is available here.

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

In terms of health support benefits under the scheme, the services available through the medical card cannot be availed of outside of Ireland. So, if you live abroad, including Northern Ireland, you can apply for a Health Support Payment valued at €3,000, instead of the medical card.

In order to apply for the Health Support Payment, you will have to provide proof that you live outside of Ireland with one of the following:

• a copy of your mortgage statement,
• a copy your tenancy or rental agreement,
• a letter from the owner or manager of a nursing home or
• a utility bill in your own name.

This must be dated within the last six months. If you have any issue providing one of these documents as proof of address, please contact the Payment Scheme Office.

The financial payments made under the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme will be made in euro to your account in a financial institution nominated by you.

The Payment Scheme can make payments to any financial institution that can accept an international funds transfer in euro including banks, building societies, credit unions and post offices.

When providing your financial account details, you should ensure that this account can accept a euro funds transfer and that there is no cap on the amount that can be accepted into the account in a once-off transfer. If you have any questions or concerns in relation to how we will pay your award, please contact the Payment Scheme Office.

Payments and Your Benefits or Tax

If you receive a payment from the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme, it may affect any means‑tested benefits you receive and may have tax implications depending on where you live.

Update: Announcement on 13 March 2026

The Payment Scheme Office welcomes the announcement made on 13 March 2026 by an Taoiseach Micheál Martin and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

This announcement confirms that:

• Payments from the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme will not be counted in means tests for benefits in the United Kingdom. This means that survivors living in the UK will not have these payments included when their benefits are assessed. Applications can be made to the Scheme immediately.
• Ireland already applies the same rule.

Payments from the Scheme are ignored for:

• tax purposes
• social welfare assessments

The recent announcement in respect of the United Kingdom currently applies to benefits only, but it is hoped that it will apply to tax also in due course. If you live in the United Kingdom or any other jurisdiction you should check how any payment received from the Payment Scheme might affect your tax liability with your local Tax Administration Office.

If You Need Proof of Your Payment

The Payment Scheme Office can give you a letter explaining:

• the purpose of the Payment Scheme, and
• the amount you have received.

If you would like this letter, or if you have any concerns about how your payment will be treated, please contact the Payment Scheme Office.

Ongoing Support for Applicants in Great Britain

The Chief Deciding Officer is working closely with colleagues in the Department to ensure that applicants in Great Britain will continue to apply without interruption.

If you have any queries about how this announcement might affect you, please contact the Payment Scheme Office.

Contact the Payment Scheme Office

Phone: +353 1 522 9992

Email: info@paymentscheme.ie

Further information on the supports available for applicants living abroad can be found on the Payment Scheme website here.