Foilsiú
52012 (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 52012
Name of applicant: [ ]
Date of incident: [ ]
Date application received: [ ]
Decision: No award.
The Applicant applied to the Tribunal arising from an incident which occurred on the [ ] at [ ]. It appears that the Applicant was was the victim of an assault and sustained multiple injuries.
The incident in this case was reported without delay to An Garda Siochana on the [ ] and the Applicant made a formal statement of complaint. The matter was investigated by Garda [ ] and the perpetrator, [ ], was prosecuted and convicted. 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 substantially late, being submitted more than ten and a half years after the incident occurred.
The Applicant states in the Application Form that “I didn’t know about this. I went into the local Citizen’s Advice centre in [ ]. They gave me the name and address for you to get in touch. I went to the advice centre on the 13th June.”
Not being aware of the existence of the Tribunal or the terms of the Scheme is not a ground upon which the Tribunal can make a determination of exceptional circumstances. The Tribunal is therefore unable to find that the circumstances of this case are such as to justify exceptional treatment which might render the application admissible.
The Applicant states that he was the victim of a crime of violence which occurred on the [ ] at [ ], [ ] when he sustained personal injury.
The completed application was received by the Tribunal on the [ ], in excess of ten and a half years after the incident. The Tribunal does not find that the circumstances of this case are such as to justify exceptional treatment. The application was received substantially outside the permitted time period and the Tribunal is unable to consider the application any further under the terms of Paragraph 21.
The Tribunal further notes that the Applicant was unemployed and had the benefit of a medical card at the time of the incident. The Tribunal cannot award general damages for injuries sustained and the application discloses no out-of-pocket expenses incurred which the Tribunal could award notwithstanding the late application.
In the circumstances, the Tribunal makes no award.
Dated the 26th day of August 2022
Cathal Lombard
Tribunal Member