Foilsiú
F51462 (20 July 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.
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: [ ]
Name of deceased: [ ]
Date of death: [ ]
Application number: F51462
Date of incident: [ ]
Date of application: [ ]
Decision/outcome: No compensation is payable by operation of paragraph 10 of the Scheme.
1. [ ] (‘the applicant’) has made a claim for compensation under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (‘the Scheme’). The completed application was completed on [ ] and received by the Tribunal on [ ].
2. The applicant is the mother of [ ] (hereafter ‘the deceased’) who died on [ ]. The claim is grounded on the injuries of the deceased’s injuries: he was murdered by shooting. The claim is made under paragraph 3(c) of the Scheme, which allows dependents of a person who has died as a result of injuries criminally inflicted to claim compensation. The application form lists six people other than the applicant as dependents of the deceased.
3. The Tribunal is cognisant of the significant trauma which the violent death of a loved-one must cause. It extends its sympathies to the deceased’s family and in particular the applicant, who is the deceased’s mother. However the powers of the Tribunal are limited: they are only the ones given to it by the Scheme and even where a very sympathetic case presents, it is obliged to operate within the terms of the Scheme. The following provisions therefore must be considered to establish whether the application is in a position to progress.
4. Para 22 of the Scheme (formerly paragraph 21) provides for a three-month timeframe within which applications should be brought, which deadline may be extended in circumstances where the Tribunal deem exceptional treatment is warranted. In this case the timelines were breached, however the Tribunal has no information on the circumstances of the delayed application and makes no decision on this point for the purposes of the current decision. In particular it notes that the applicant’s attention was not brought to the timeframe in question and its preliminary view would be that it is unfair to impose it a decade after the application was made.
5. However on [ ] the Tribunal Secretariat did write to the applicant’s solicitor asking, among other things, for the birth certificates or alternatively the waivers of the persons claiming as dependents under the Scheme.
6. On [ ] the Tribunal Secretariat received a report from a Detective Garda providing information in respect of the incident in which the deceased was killed. It states that a person was charged with murder in respect of the incident. It also listed offences against the deceased’s record, which include theft, possession of knives and other articles, public order and road traffic offences.
7. On [ ] the Garda Report was sent to the applicant’s solicitor noting the offences listed on the deceased’s record, and pointing out the (then) Article 14 (it is now renumbered para 13) of the Scheme which provides that no, or reduced compensation will be payable where the Tribunal satisfied that such reduction is appropriate having had regard to the conduct, way of life or character of the victim. It sought any comments that the applicant might have of relevance to that point.
8. No response was received to these letters. On [ ] the Tribunal Secretariat wrote to the applicant’s solicitor by email, asking that they indicate by [ ] whether the claim was being pursued. No was received to this email.
9. Paragraph 10 of the Scheme states that no compensation will be payable where an applicant fails to provide the Tribunal with all reasonable assistance, whether by way of medical reports or otherwise. In this case the identities of the dependents, clarification over who has waived their claim, and the comments sought in respect of the deceased’s criminal record have not been supplied. All of these matters are necessary for the Tribunal to properly assess the claim. Not supplying these documents and information leaves unbridgeable gaps in the case. While there may be reasons for the failure to respond (which the Tribunal does not know about) under the terms of the Scheme this amounts to a failure to give the Tribunal reasonable assistance.
10. Compensation is therefore not payable in respect of this application by operation of paragraph 10 of the Scheme, and simply because there is not enough information upon which to assess the claim.
Tricia Sheehy Skeffington
Member, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
20 July 2022