Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 October 2023
408. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice if she will support the funding of a public information campaign to promote knowledge of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46644/23]
View answerLet me assure the Deputy that I am committed to creating a criminal justice system that is victim centred, including by providing a range of supports and services for victims of crime and promoting awareness of these.
In 2021, I launched a new Victims Charter website to bring together all of the information a victim of crime might need to know about their rights and about what to expect from their engagement with the criminal justice system. It presents the information in an easily accessible and user-friendly way to allow victims of crime to quickly and easily find the information they need.
It also provides details of all the different supports that are available, both when engaging with the criminal justice system and more generally for when people just need support recovering from what has happened to them; including information on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal. Further information can be accessed at www.victimscharter.ie/support-reporting/criminal-injuries-compensation-tribunal/
Detailed information on the Scheme is also currently available at www.gov.ie/criminalinjuries which is a website put in place by my Department in 2022, with the support of the Office of the Government’s Chief Information Officer (OGCIO). This provides a dedicated website for the Scheme to assist intending applicants with information on its operation.
To further awareness of the full range of supports available to victims of crime, my Department is running a high level national awareness raising campaign which promotes the rights that victims of crime have and the supports and services available to them. This includes dissemination of printed material in several languages and in April we launched a new phase of this campaign on television and radio which has a particular emphasis on reaching minority and harder-to-reach communities.
In addition information on the scheme is also available via a range of other sources including, for example, the following
• An Garda Síochána's victim information booklet at www.garda.ie/en/victim-services/garda-victim-service/victim-information-booklet-september-2022.pdf.
• The Citizens Information website at www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/victims_of_crime/victims_and_compensation.html.
• On the websites of a number of prominent NGO victim support services such as the Crime Victims Helpline at www.crimevictimshelpline.ie/after-a-crime/compensation
• Work to support the longer term reform of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is continuing and when this work is completed, additional awareness raising measures to promote understanding on the revised Scheme will be considered.
