Over 360 applications had been made to the Government's controversial Symphysiotomy Payment Scheme by Friday afternoon and 40 conditional offers of payment had been made, the Department of Health has said.

The redress scheme will see women who underwent a surgical symphysiotomy receiving payments of €50,000, €100,000 or €150,000.

Symphysiotomy had been discontinued in all but one hospital by the mid-1960s, however, it continued at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda until the mid-1980s.

It involved widening the pelvis to ease childbirth by dividing the cartilage of the pubic bone. However, the operation caused severe side-effects in many women, including life-long pain, incontinence, mobility problems and psychological problems.

According to the department, an estimated 1,500 women underwent the procedure and around 350 of these are still alive.

The establishment of the redress scheme had been announced last July, but had been criticised by some survivors for a number of reasons, including the lack of independent adjudication in relation to awards made.

However announcing the details of the scheme last month, the Department of Health said that former High Court Judge, Maureen Harding Clark, had been appointed as an independent assessor to oversee the implementation of the scheme. Her role is to determine the ‘appropriate level of award for each individual case'.

Judge Clark reported to the department that as of 3pm on Friday, December 5, 360 applications had been made and application forms were continuing to be received.

December 5 was the final day for applications, however, the department pointed out that in ‘exceptional circumstances, Judge Clark has discretion to extend the time for receipt of applications by an additional 20 working days, that is, to Wednesday, 14 January 2015'.

So far, 40 conditional offers totaling €2.6 million have been made, however the department emphasised that the scheme is voluntary and applicants will not waive their rights to take their cases to court as a precondition to their participation.

"Women may opt out of the scheme at any stage in the process, up to the time of accepting their award," it noted.

Two of the support groups representing those affected, Patient Focus and SOS Ltd, have welcomed the scheme, however a third group, SoS (Survivors of Symphysiotomy), believes it is ‘unjust' and is forcing survivors ‘to choose prematurely between legal action and redress'.