The Residential Institutions Redress Board is an independent body established under the terms of the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 which provided for its establishment. The board is in place and fully operational. Judge Sean O'Leary, a High Court judge, is its chairperson. Seven other members have also been appointed.
On the basis of the most recent information available from the board, it has received 2,849 applications. To date, the board has completed the process in 680 cases. The average award is approximately €80,000.
The board provides regular updates as to the number of claims received on its website, www.rirb.ie. It is finalising its first annual report which will cover the period 16 December 2002 to 31 December 2003. When this report is received, I will make arrangements for it to be laid before both Houses
of the Oireachtas.
Prior to the establishment of the board, my Department had estimated that there would be approximately 5,000 applicants. It is too early to determine what the final outcome will be but we can view the information on the website.