Irish In Britain

A victory for Philomena's Law

The government has announced (13 March 2026, Shared Ties point 13 ) that Philomena’s Law will be introduced to protect survivors of Ireland’s Mother and Baby Homes living in Britain from losing vital means-tested benefits after accepting compensation from the Irish government’s redress scheme.

We acknowledge the suffering of those who spent time in mother and baby homes during the 20th century.

In recognition of the lifelong impact of this, today the UK agrees to disregard payments under Ireland’s Mother and Baby Redress Scheme, ensuring that survivors in both countries are treated the same and can receive the compensation to which they are rightly entitled.

We also welcome Ireland’s agreement in principle to disregard means for compensation payments from UK schemes.

The announcement follows a year-long campaign led by Liam Conlon MP and the national charity Irish in Britain, which secured cross-party backing from more than 100 MPs and peers. Prominent Irish public figures including Siobhán McSweeney, Dara Ó Briain, Emma Dabiri and Steve Coogan have also supported the campaign.

• Read more about the government announcement and what it means HERE.

Background to the camapign

Irish in Britain supports the call for Philomena's Law. It would introduce what is called an ‘indefinite capital disregard’ for payments made to survivors from Ireland's Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme who live in Britain.

Currently someone who accepts a redress payment from the scheme may lose their ability to claim means-tested benefits. Philomena’s Law would ensure that any payment from this scheme does not affect eligibility to means-tested benefits.

The bill is named after Philomena Lee, whose life was portrayed in the award-winning film of the same name. Her family support the campaign and have attended Westminster debates and meetings.

Watch Liam Conlon MP as he first proposes the law in the House of Commons HERE.

Letter to MPs

We have drafted a template that you can use to email your MP asking them to sign Liam Conlon's open letter, it would be great if you could also share this around your networks as much as possible.

Please ensure that you include your name and address so that your MP can verify that you are their constituent as they can only take on casework from those living in their constituency.

You can find your MP and their email address using your postcode here: Find your MP - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament

Below are reports on events and activity in the campaign.

• For information and support for survivors click HERE.

• Mary Lou McDonald calls for Government to support UK's Philomena Law, read more HERE.

• Statement from the Special Advocate for Survivors in relation to Philomena’s Law HERE.

• Watch full video of a Westminster Hall debate on the issue HERE