Browne accuses government of lacking compassion with Mother and Baby Home redress scheme

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The Mother and Baby Homes redress scheme only adds to the injustices experienced by survivors according to Tipperary TD Martin Browne.

The Sinn Féin Deputy says he has been contacted by a number of survivors of Sean Ross Abbey in Roscrea who are furious with the scheme.

Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman said the €800 million scheme is the largest of its kind in the state’s history and will benefit around 34,000 former residents.

Martin Browne says the survivors have been let down once again by the Government.

“For many years the survivors of institutions like Sean Ross and others the redress scheme as announced this week excludes a lot of them again.

“There doesn’t seem to be any compassion shown and that’s one of the disappointing things because we had thought that Minister O’Gorman has some bit of compassion but he doesn’t seem to with what came this week.”

Martin Browne has accused the government of showing a lack of compassion to survivors of Mother and Baby Homes such as Sean Ross Abbey in Roscrea.

He says the exclusion of infants who spent less than six months at a Mother and Baby Home from accessing redress is yet another failure.

“They don’t seem to have learned any lessons at all.

“The issue for survivors all the time has been about recognition. But that recognition has been failed again and again down over the years and over the decades.

“Like, every minute spent in homes like Sean Ross and Tuam and that was a minute too long. It shouldn’t have happened.

“That’s where its deeply hurtful for people that are being excluded now. They’ve had their hopes dashed again.”