51951 (21 October 2022)

Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted

Decision of one member of the Tribunal pursuant to section 25 of the Scheme

Applicant: [ ]

Date of incident: [ ]

Date of application: [ ]

Case reference: 51951

Decision: Pursuant to Article 23 of the Scheme, no award of compensation will be made.

1. [ ] (“the applicant”) has made a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (“the Scheme”).

2. The application form was signed by the applicant on [ ] stamped as received by the Tribunal on [ ].

3. In her application, the applicant stated that she was raped by her partner, [ ] on [ ] in [ ]. The applicant stated that she and [ ] had been in a relationship since [ ] and she visited Ireland to [ ]. The applicant stated that she was raped by him in the bedroom of [ ] following a violent argument. The applicant and [ ] got into a taxi and travelled to [ ] where further arguments ensued.

4. As a result of the assault by her partner, the applicant suffered a broken arm. The applicant attended hospitals in [ ] and in Ireland for treatment to her injuries.

5. In her application, the applicant stated that she did not report the matter to An Garda Siochana, but reported the matter to [ ] when she had returned home to [ ].

6. The applicant did not submit any receipts or other vouching documentation with respect to her out-of-pocket expenses arising from this incident.

7. The Tribunal has had the benefit of a Garda Report dated [ ] which states that the applicant did not report the matter to An Garda Siochana, but in response to the applicant’s application to the Tribunal, a member of An Garda Siochana contacted [ ] which confirmed details of the [ ] under the name of the applicant’s partner on the night in question. The Garda contacted the admissions section of the [ ] Hospital which confirmed that the applicant had attended A&E on [ ] at [ ] for treatment.

8. The Garda Report stated that there was no record on PULSE of any complaint or report made by the applicant.

9. An Garda Siochana made contact with the applicant who resides in [ ]. The applicant repeated the details of the rape and assault to the Garda which is in line with the particulars provided by her in her application.

10. On [ ], the secretariat of the Tribunal wrote to the applicant to acknowledge her application. The applicant’s attention was drawn to Article 23 which requires the applicant to report the matter to An Garda Siochana without delay in order to be eligible for compensation under the Scheme. The applicant’s attention was also brought to Article 10 which was in place at the time of the applicant’s application and provides that no compensation will be paid where the offender and the victim were living together as members of the same household at the time the injuries were inflicted.

11. The Tribunal has had the benefit of a number of reports from An Garda Siochana with respect to the applicant’s compliant ultimately resting with a report dated [ ] to the secretariat of the Tribunal stating that the applicant had given a false address to [ ] who have investigated the matter and who had sought the applicant to make a formal complaint regarding the rape allegation perpetrated by her partner.

12. There is no further correspondence from the applicant on file.

13. Article 23 of the Scheme in place at the time of the application states “To qualify for compensation it will be necessary to indicate to the Tribunal that the offence giving rise to injury has been the subject of criminal proceedings or that it was reported to the Gardai without delay. However, the Tribunal will have discretion to dispense with this requirement…in other cases where they are satisfied that all reasonable efforts were made by or on behalf of the claimant to notify the Garda Síochána of the offence and to cooperate with them.”

14. It Is clear from Garda Reports submitted to the Tribunal, that the applicant did not report the matter to An Garda Siochana. The Garda investigation of this matter was only undertaken on foot of the applicant’s application to the Tribunal.

15. While the applicant did report the matter to police in [ ], it is clear from Garda Reports that the applicant provided a false address to police in [ ] and has refused to co-operate with either An Garda Siochana or the police in [ ] who have been investigating the applicant’s claim.

16. The Tribunal finds that the applicant has not made all reasonable efforts to co-operate with An Garda Siochana, and therefore, pursuant to Article 23 of the Scheme, the application must be refused.

Peter Stafford BL

Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal

21 October 2022