Rosemary Adaser, 70, would lose £1,000 a month in benefits, while her twin brother in Ireland got full amount with no penalty
A twin sister and brother were separated from their parents in Ireland’s mother and baby home scandal – but only one of them can be compensated without being penalised.
Rosemary Adaser, 70, of Ealing, west London, was among tens of thousands of children placed in abusive institutions for being born out of marriage in Ireland.
But if Adaser accepts compensation under the Irish mother and baby institutions payment scheme, which opened in 2024, she faces losing at least £1,000 a month in housing benefit.
A legal loophole means because the compensation she is due is from a foreign government, normal “capital disregard” provisions do not apply, and any payments can be treated as cash savings for means-testing benefits and social care.
