asked the Minister for Justice the reason his Department have so far refused to provide any scheme for compensation for prison officers for criminal injuries received in the course of their duties; and if he has any plants to introduce such a scheme.
Written Answers. - Prison Officers' Compensation.
75.
There is a general scheme of compensation for personal injuries criminally inflicted under which all persons in the State may claim and which is administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal. Prison officers who are criminally injured in the course of duty may claim under this scheme.
I take it that in referring to the absence of a scheme of compensation the Deputy has in mind an amendment made to the general scheme with effect from 1 April 1986 to exclude payment of compensation in respect of pain and suffering. The implications of this amendment for prison staff injured in the course of duty have been under examination in my Department for some time but so far it has not proved possible to agree a separate scheme for prison staff.
Prison officers who received criminal injuries in the course of duty are also subject to the provisions governing occupational injuries which apply to civil servants generally. These include payment in accordance with the normal sick leave arrangements in respects of officers unfit for work as a results of having been injured in the course of duty and, in cases where officers have to retire, benefits under the Injury Warrant 1946 (as amended by the Injury Warrant 1978).