Philomena Lee was 18 years old when she became pregnant and was sent to the Sean Ross Abbey Mother and Baby Home in Roscrea, County Tipperary, in Ireland. There Philomena gave birth to her son Anthony and there they lived for three years before she was forced to give him up for adoption. Anthony was sold to a couple in the United States. Philomena would never see him again.
Philomena’s story brought the scandal of Ireland’s Mother and Baby Homes to a global audience through the Oscar-nominated film Philomena, where she is played by Dame Judi Dench. The film also stars Steve Coogan, who plays Martin Sixsmith, the BBC journalist who helped Philomena Lee in her heartbreaking search for her son. I am delighted that ‘Philomena’s Law’ has the support of Philomena Lee and her family, as well as the public backing of Steve Coogan.
It was an honour to share Philomena’s story of heartbreak and courage in Westminster earlier this month when I introduced the draft legislation ‘Philomena’s Law’, named in recognition of the impact her story has had. The Bill seeks justice for thousands of women like Philomena, and their children, who were resident in Ireland’s Mother and Baby Homes.
Over seven decades until the 1990s, thousands of “fallen women” were sent to these cruel institutions for the perceived sin of becoming pregnant outside of marriage. There they suffered the most horrific mistreatment and abuse. Women were used as unpaid labour. Others, like Philomena, had their children forcibly adopted, sometimes overseas, never to be seen again.
Many survivors moved to Britain as a direct result of the mistreatment and abuse they experienced in Mother and Baby Homes. In some cases, they came because they thought that disappearing from Ireland was the only way to protect their family’s reputations. They carried with them a great deal of internalised shame, as well as the secret of what had happened to them. For lots of survivors, including Philomena, it wasn’t until much later in life that they shared the details of these traumatic years with their families, often revealing long lost relatives in the process.
So it was a significant day in 2021 when survivors finally received an official apology from the Taoiseach for the “profound generational wrong visited upon Irish mothers and their children”. This was followed by the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme – to provide compensation for what happened to them – which opened to applications last March. The scheme represents a measure of accountability for what happened and aims to acknowledge the suffering and improve the circumstances of former residents of Mother and Baby Homes.
However, for more than 13,000 survivors living in Britain today, what was meant to be a token of acknowledgement and apology has ended up becoming an additional burden. This is because, under our current rules, any money accepted through the payment scheme is considered as savings and could see them lose any means-tested benefits such as housing benefit, or financial support for social care they currently receive.
‘Philomena’s Law’ seeks to right this wrong. It proposes the introduction of what is called a ‘capital disregard’ which would mean that any compensation from the scheme gets ringfenced, so that survivors can apply and accept the payments without fear that it will negatively affect their benefits. The same mechanism has been used for other special compensation schemes in the past, including to support Windrush families, as well as those affected by the 7/7 and Manchester bombings.
This week I had the honour of hosting a public briefing on ‘Philomena’s Law’ in Parliament, bringing together Irish community organisations, campaigners, advocates and, crucially, survivors and their families. It was an opportunity to reflect on the experiences of those who spent time in Mother and Baby Homes, and to discuss the urgent need for ‘Philomena’s Law’ to support the thousands of survivors living in Britain today.
We talked about the importance of raising awareness of the payment scheme more broadly, so that more people in Britain are encouraged to apply. Take up here is currently very low, at around 5%, and only a small proportion of the money allocated to the scheme by the Irish government has been awarded so far.
We also heard powerful testimonies from survivors and advocates, which shone a light on the human impact of this unfair situation. This included one man, born into a Mother and Baby Home, who was so concerned about the impact the money would have on his benefits that he held off making a decision for as long as possible. After finally accepting the offer, he sadly passed away within a matter of months, unable to benefit from the compensation he had been due.
Conversations like these are also crucial in confronting the stigma and shame that has so often surrounded those who were resident in these cruel institutions. The event was a chance to acknowledge the wrong that was done to Mother and Baby Home survivors, while reinforcing the message that they themselves did nothing wrong.
Our campaign is gaining traction, and I’m delighted that ‘Philomena’s Law’ has support from MPs across the House. I will continue to work alongside survivors, as well as their families and Irish community organisations in Britain, until we deliver justice and show them the kindness and respect they have so often been denied in life.
Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest news and analysis.
Source: Politics