Victims of violent crimes endure worsening delays for compensation

A growing backlog in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal is leaving victims of serious assaults waiting years for redress.

Just 31 payments were made to victims in 2017, a year in which there were 181 new applications, and only 10 victims were compensated up to the end of May this year when 73 new cases were lodged in the same period.

Since 2012, 1,357 claims have been received by the tribunal but only 597 payments were made.

Fianna Fáil TD John Curran has now called for an immediate review of the scheme to find out what is causing the hold-ups.

Victims should expect that they will receive their compensation in a prompt manner and in accordance with constitutional justice.

“Should this year’s applications be managed in the very same poor manner, it’s likely that just 24 cases will be settled in 2018.”

The tribunal compensates people for out of pocket expenses — such as medical costs and loss of earnings —due to injuries suffered during violent crimes. The 31 payments made last ranged from €905,000 to €164.10 and totalled €3.97m.

The tribunal can not exceed its annual budget regardless of the needs of the victims. Its budget amounts to around €4m a year.

Mr Curran said tribunal correspondence cited “economic constraints” as one of the reasons for the delays in victims receiving compensation.

He said expecting the tribunal to work within a set budget when its workload and case mix varied from year to year was a “dysfunctional” way to operate.

“One case could need to payout €1m or more when it reaches settlement, especially a victim who has suffered a life-altering injury. That means that one substantial case settlement can absorb a quarter of the tribunal’s funding.

These more complex applications, although exceptionally important to settle, tend to get put off as a result and until a time that the payment can be met under a yearly budget. That could be half a decade.

The Dáil heard before the summer of a case of a man who was waiting 13 years for compensation after suffering life-altering injuries in an unprovoked attack.

“A thorough review must be carried out before next year’s figure of unsettled claims rises even more. This review could not come quick enough for very many victims of crime or their families,” Mr Curran said.

The Department of Justice said cases were often complex and took time to assess but aspects of the scheme were being examined.