Assault victims waiting years for redress

Victims of serious assaults are waiting years for money to cover basic expenses and loss of earnings, because of the “dysfunctional” Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal, solicitors say.

They also say the body is breaching the Constitution by failing to provide timely assistance to victims.

The Department of Justice has asked the Law Reform Commission to review the scheme, but critics say its failings are obvious and the Department should know what changes need to be made.

A solicitor familiar with the workings of the tribunal said it was constrained by an annual budget that did not have the flexibility to respond to fluctuations in demand. “It has around a €4m budget each year and, remarkably, that’s almost exactly what it pays out, yet there are not the same number or type of cases each year.

“Occasionally, there would be cases worth a million euro or more — where someone has, maybe, suffered a life-changing brain injury — but one big case like that would eat too big a hole in the annual allocation, so it gets put off and put off, until it fits into some year’s budget.

“They’ll act quicker on the smaller cases — the broken nose and dental work — and the bigger cases get left behind. That’s a dysfunctional way to operate. It’s an area of the law that’s completely neglected.”

The Department of Justice has rejected the criticisms, but said it did not maintain statistics on waiting times for cases to be processed.

“In cases of serious injury to the victim, it can take a considerable amount of time (in some cases a number of years) before the victim’s treating consultant doctor is in a position to give a final prognosis, which then informs the tribunal’s determination. Because each application is considered on a case-by-case basis, waiting times can vary significantly,” it said.

However, the Victims Rights’ Alliance said it, too, had concerns about delays in the processing of applications and pointed to a High Court judgment from 2017, which ruled that victims had a right to a “reasonably prompt decision” and that any undue delay was in breach of the victim’s right to constitutional justice.

Alliance founding member, barrister, Maria McDonald, said: “Recent case law illustrates the need for a review of the tribunal’s procedures to ensure that victims receive compensation in a prompt manner, and in accordance with constitutional justice.

“The procedures for obtaining compensation, and the documentation which victims must provide, should not be unduly onerous. If the procedure is not clear and concise, it will cause secondary victimisation to victims of crime, contrary to the EU Victims Directive and the recently enacted Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act, 2017.”

The Alliance also says any review of the scheme should ensure its remit is broadened to include victims of domestic violence who are excluded because of the ban on claims by victims who reside with their assailant.

Aspects of that rule are the subject of a High Court judicial review sought for by the mother of a young woman murdered by a former work colleague who was staying in the family home.

The tribunal received 181 applications for compensation in 2017 and compensation was paid in respect of 31. Total compensation paid during the year amounted to €3.97m, the highest single amount being €905,000.