Vol. 563 No. 1
294 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Education and Science when a person (details supplied) will be granted a hearing before the Residential Institutions Redress Board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6899/03]
The Residential Institutions Redress Act was signed into law by the President on 10 April 2002. The Act provides for the establishment of the Residential Institutions Redress Board to administer a scheme that will enable victims of institutional abuse to make applications for compensation.
The Residential Institutions Redress Board was established on 16 December 2002 and is located at Block 5, Belfield Office Park, Clonskeagh. The Residential Institutions Redress Board is independent of my Department and, while I am aware that the board has commenced accepting applications, I am not in a position to indicate when it will begin its first hearing. Section 5 of the Act allows the board to have regard to the age and health of an applicant when determining the order in which applicants are to be heard and the it has outlined this in its leaflet entitled, Full Guide to the Application Process.
