Campaigners for a UK law to stop the financial penalisation of the survivors of Irish mother and baby homes believe the appointment to a relevant UK cabinet portfolio of Pat McFadden, who was raised in an Irish-speaking house by Donegal parents, may bring fresh impetus to their campaign.
Siobhán McSweeney, the host of Traitors Ireland on RTÉ and a former star of Derry Girls, joined UK Labour Party MP Liam Conlon and British-based Irish charity activists in Liverpool on Sunday to highlight the campaign for “Philomena’s Law”.
The campaigners want UK legislation changed to prevent up to 10,000 survivors of Irish mother and baby homes who live in Britain from having their means-tested benefits cut if they accept payouts from the Republic’s financial redress scheme.
The proposed legal change is named after Philomena Lee, a survivor of mother and baby homes who was portrayed in the movie Philomena by actor Judi Dench.
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Glasgow-born Mr McFadden, one of the most senior members of UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s government, was recently reshuffled into the British government’s work and pensions cabinet portfolio. Gaining his backing for a Philomena’s Law is now seen as a key target of the campaigners.
British-resident survivors who accept Irish redress are penalised because it is counted in assessment for welfare benefits such as pension credit and universal credit.
Campaigners, led by London-based Labour MP Mr Conlon and Rosa Gilbert of the charity group Irish in Britain, want the Irish payouts legally ring-fenced for British welfare purposes. There is already a similar carve out in Northern Ireland.
The Republic’s Government is in talks with the UK government over the issue – British authorities have raised concerns that there are, as of yet, no reciprocal financial ring-fencing arrangements in the State, for payments coming from Britain.
“It is disgusting what happened to those women [in the State’s 18 mother and baby homes],” said London-resident Ms McSweeney, speaking at an event as part of the official fringe at the UK Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool’s docks.
“Most of the women are not even able to talk about what happened to them, and what we have been told by them is very upsetting,” said McSweeney, who referred to the discovery of 796 children’s remains in Tuam.
Ms Gilbert recounted the story of a survivor in her late 70s who wanted to use a payout she was due from the Irish scheme to visit relatives she was separated from in the US. The woman also has cancer. But she is worried about the impact on her benefits.
“[The redress] has become a rope around my neck,” the woman told campaign group Irish in Britain. Ms Gilbert said the current low take-up of compensation from British-resident survivors of the homes was down to the welfare issue.
Mr Conlon, who is the son of former top Downing Street aide Sue Gray, has helped to build a cross-party coalition of about 200 MPs and peers to back the change, but the UK government has yet to commit to the change.
“My personal ambition is to get a change in the law by the spring when we have the budget,” he said.
