Foilsiú
51271 (26 August 2022)
Ó Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
Foilsithe
An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
Ó Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
Foilsithe
An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted - General Scheme
Single Member Decision
Application of [ ]
Application number 51271
Name of applicant: [ ]
Date of incident: [ ]
Date application received: [ ]
Decision: No award.
The Applicant applied to the Tribunal in respect of an incident which occurred on the [ ] inside the [ ]. The Applicant was inside a [ ] when he was approached and shot a number of times in the legs, head and neck area causing him to sustain serious personal injury. In addition, the Applicant apparently suffered further injury in a fall in his attempt to escape.
The incident in this case was reported to An Garda Siochana and the Applicant appears to have co-operated with the Garda investigation. Two persons were arrested and detained in the course of the investigation. No prosecution was directed due to insufficient evidence. The Applicant has not received payment of compensation at any time.
The General Scheme provides that the Tribunal may pay compensation for out-of-pocket expenses in respect of personal injury, where the injury is directly attributable to a crime of violence, subject to the provisions of the Scheme. Amounts claimed must be vouched and/or supported by appropriate documentation. The Tribunal is entirely responsible for deciding in any particular case whether compensation is payable under the scheme.
Paragraph 21 of the General Scheme (pre-April 2021) 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”. In this case, the application was received on the [ ] and was marginally outside the permitted time. Given the negligible delay and the serious injuries sustained in the incident, this Member of the Tribunal considers that the circumstances as a whole justify exceptional treatment in respect of Paragraph 21.
Paragraph 14 of the General Scheme (pre-April 2021) states that “No compensation will be payable where the Tribunal is satisfied that the conduct of the victim, his character or his way of life make it inappropriate that he should be granted an award and the Tribunal may reduce the amount of an award where, in its opinion, it is appropriate to do so having regard to the conduct, character or way of life of the victim.”
At the time of the incident in [ ], [ ] had prior convictions under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act and under the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act and received fines in the District Court. However, it is since a matter of public knowledge that [ ] has been heavily involved in serious criminal activity. In [ ], [ ] and others [ ] in the Special Criminal Court to [ ]. The Garda evidence in that case was that the [ ]. The Applicant was sentenced to [ ] years imprisonment by the Special Criminal Court.
The Applicant states that he was the victim of a crime of violence which occurred on the [ ] at a [ ] in [ ] when he was shot a number of times and sustained significant personal injury.
In this case, the Applicant is a convicted criminal who has engaged in serious [ ]. The Applicant is serving a [ ] years prison sentence imposed by the Special Criminal Court.
The Tribunal determines that the conduct of the Applicant, his character and way of life make it inappropriate that the Tribunal would consider an award.
In the circumstances, the Tribunal makes no award.
Dated the 26th day of August 2022
Cathal Lombard
Tribunal Member