22460 (16 January 2023)

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal

In the matter of an application under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted

Decision of a Single Member

Name of applicant: [ ]

Application number: 22460

Date of incident: [ ]

Date of application: [ ]

Decision outcome: The application is refused under paragraph 21.

1. [ ] (‘the applicant’) has made a claim for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (‘the Scheme’).

2. In his application for compensation under the original Scheme, the Applicant stated that he suffered an assault at [ ] by a man with a [ ]. There were four men involved in the assault altogether. Another man hit him a blow to the back of the head.

3. The Applicant said that the Gardaí and an ambulance arrived. There is a Garda report on file dated the [ ]. This report states that the Applicant was assaulted by four men. Garda [ ] stated, in the report, that the Applicant declined to make a statement of complaint and he informed the Garda that he was selling drugs for someone from [ ] and that the assault might be as a result of an outstanding debt. The Applicant, however, through his Solicitors, [ ], denies that the assault was as a result of drug dealing. The Gardaí also supplied a list of 17 previous convictions for the Applicant, ranging from assault and theft to breach of the peace.

4. There are no medical reports on file. There is a letter stating that the Applicant worked in [ ], for a period of time before resigning.

5. There is no evidence on file that anyone was charged or convicted in relation to the assault.

6. The Applicant did not bring this application within three months of the alleged crime and is, therefore, not within the time limit for bringing such a claim.

7. Paragraph 21 states that ‘Applications should be made as soon as possible but, except in circumstances determined by the Tribunal to justify exceptional treatment, not later than three months after the event giving rise to the injury’.

8. There are no reasons given, in the application for the failure to submit within the required three-month period. The Applicant submitted his application outside of the aforesaid three months, and he did not put forward any exceptional circumstances to illustrate why the time should be extended. The Appellant has not provided any reasons for failing to submit the application on time. Therefore, his claim must fail at this juncture.

9. Based on the failure to submit the application on time, the Tribunal finds that this case must fail.

Majella Twomey

Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal

16 January 2023