The Government faces legal challenges in the High Court in October to broaden eligibility for the redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby homes .
The scheme was opened in March of this year with nearly 5000 applications made to date with the average payout around 15,000 euro.
The redress scheme is limited to 14 mother and baby homes and 30 state run country homes prompting some non eligible survivors to take legal action
If successful, the lawsuit could push the final cost of the much-criticised scheme, which is currently estimated at €800m, to in excess of €1bn.
