Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 July 2018
230. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason there has been a reduction in the number of cases in which payments have been made in 2017 and to date in 2018 of the claims being brought to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31762/18]
View answerThe Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal, which administers the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted, is independent in considering applications and neither I nor my Department have any role in the processing of applications.
I am advised that the number of payments made varies from year to year dependent on the number of factors such as applications received, applications processed to decision stage, the number of appeals, the size of the awards and the available budget.
I can assure the Deputy that the Tribunal has expended its full budget on payments in recent years and expects to do so in 2018.
As I informed the Deputy in my response to his question on the 14 June 2018, the length of time to settle each claim varies depending on the circumstances of each case. While applications are processed with the minimum of formality compared to court proceedings where compensation is being claimed under the Civil Liability Acts, in making their decisions Tribunal Members must be satisfied that all supporting documentation submitted is in order. In some cases there can be delays pending the availability of all required documentation and some cases are complex in terms of medical conditions being assessed.
