Foilsiú
51225 (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 51225
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 [ ]. The Applicant was working in a take-away restaurant when he was punched to the side of the head by a man known to him, [ ], causing him to sustain personal injury.
The incident in this case was immediately reported to An Garda Siochana and Garda [ ] attended at the premises within a short time afterwards and took details. There was no CCTV of the incident. The Applicant subsequently made a formal statement of complaint. The matter was investigated and a cautioned statement was taken from the alleged perpetrator. On the [ ], the Applicant made a further statement to An Garda Siochana withdrawing his complaint. As a result, no prosecution was possible.
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 within time.
Paragraph 23 of the General Scheme (pre-April 2021) states that “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 without delay to the Gardaí. However, the Tribunal will have discretion to dispense with this requirement 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.”
The Applicant states that he was the victim of a crime of violence which occurred on the [ ] at [ ] when he received a punch to the side of the head and sustained personal injury.
In this case, the Applicant reported the incident without delay to An Garda Siochana and made a statement of complaint. The perpetrator was known to him and was identified. However, the Applicant later made a further statement withdrawing his complaint. As a result of the withdrawal of the complaint, the perpetrator was not amenable to prosecution in respect of the incident and the offence has not been the subject of criminal proceedings. The Applicant has failed to co-operate with An Garda Siochana to enable the alleged crime to be appropriately dealt with through the criminal justice system.
In the circumstances, pursuant to Paragraph 23 of the Scheme, the Tribunal makes no award.
Dated the 26th day of August 2022
Cathal Lombard
Tribunal Member