There have been calls for an extension of the deadline to apply for redress by survivors of symphysiotomy - which runs out today.

Amnesty International has also called on the Health Minister Leo Varadkar to repeal the legal waiver women must sign before they accept any payment.

The executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, Colm O'Gorman, said: "It is wholly unacceptable that these women must waive their right to take further legal action against any individual or body for what happened to them in order to accept this payment."

"It is an affront to the surviving women’s human rights that they should be obliged not to sue, and to "indemnify and hold harmless", any individuals and bodies responsible for human rights abuses inflicted upon them."

Amnesty says the waiver denies the women their rights to "seek truth, justice and reparation from those who perpetrated human rights abuses against them - rights that are at the very core of the international human rights system."

In July 2014, the UN Human Rights Committee recommended that the government provide an effective remedy to the survivors of symphysiotomy for the damage sustained, including fair and adequate compensation and rehabilitation, on an individualised basis.

'Women faced with difficult choice'

"The UN Human Rights Committee could not have been clearer. It advised that Ireland must not only allow, but also facilitate, any woman opting for this ex gratia payment scheme to take legal action. What the government has instead done is a trespass on their right to a remedy for human rights abuses," Mr O'Gorman added.

Amnesty says that given the advanced age and poor health of most of the women involved, many will be faced with a difficult choice.

"They can decide to reject an award and have to pursue what could be years of litigation. Or they can accept the award knowing that their right to an effective remedy
as set out in international human rights law has been utterly denied them by this state," Mr O'Gorman said.

Some 1,500 symphysiotomies took place in Ireland and an estimated 350 of these women are alive today.

Many have been left with permanent injuries such as incontinence, difficulty walking and chronic pain.

A scheme worth €34m is currently on the table - women who underwent the procedure can receive awards at three levels: €50,000, €100,000 and €150,000.