Tribunal pays out €4.4m in compensation for attacks last year
Statistics from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal show a total of €4.44m was paid out, split between €1.68m for 242 non-fatal attacks, and €2.77m for 22 fatal attacks. The highest single award was €568,328 for one fatal attack.
The total amount paid out by the tribunal last year is similar to the total for 2007, and down from the 2006 figure of €4.87m.
While opposition parties have claimed the growing crime rate in recent years is not yet reflected in the number and scale of the awards, fresh crime figures published last week showed a sizeable drop in the number of murders in 2008 compared with the previous year, a statistic that is likely to impact on the scale of future pay-outs.
The pay-outs from the tribunal last year are primarily made on incidents which took place in the preceding years. Fatal and non-fatal incidents which took place last year are likely to be dealt with this year and in some cases next year.
The 22 applications made regarding fatalities last year compares with 48 applications in 2007 and 24 in 2006.
The fluctuating nature of the awards shows that while the number of pay-outs related to assault climbed to 196 (non-fatal cases) compared with 136 non-fatal cases the previous year, other categories, such as non-fatal stabbing awards, fell slightly.
There was a marked increase in the number of awards related to injuries sustained during robberies, up to 15 non-fatal awards last year compared with just three in the previous two years. There were 10 awards for fatalities caused by shootings, although just two awards granted last year for non-fatal shooting incidents.
The figures came to light as another group, the Crime Victims Helpline, confirmed last week that it had seen a 20% increase in the number of contacts to its office last year compared with the figure for 2007.
The number of calls increased to 2,413 in 2008 compared with 1,963 calls the previous year. The group also said it had seen a 15% in the number of contacts made this January compared with the volume of calls for the same month in 2008.
