Data obtained by BBC News NI reveals that more than 40 people who applied for a pension scheme for Troubles victims have died before a decision was made. Of the 6,200 applications, the Victims’ Payment Board has only made decisions on 955. Approximately £32m has been paid out to victims so far, but the board said the process is “complex.” Adding that it prioritizes applications from terminally ill and older people, the passage of time has made certain records required “difficult or impossible to retrieve”.
According to the figures, a total of 43 applicants have died before determination was made through a Freedom of Information request. One person died in the first year of the scheme, with the figure increasing to 14 in 2022, and 28 in 2023. If an applicant dies, a partner or carer may be nominated to receive payments on their behalf for a period of 10 years, except when a lump-sum payment has been made.
Eugene Reavey, who lost three brothers in a loyalist paramilitary gun attack in 1976, submitted an application shortly after the scheme’s launch but has yet to receive any decision despite the application process being considered “very slow.” Victims’ support group the Wave Trauma Centre said a key cause of delay was the time taken to receive information required under the scheme from statutory agencies.
“We are working collaboratively with the Victims’ Payment Board to raise and deal with issues, and we are hopeful that some progress might be made,” said Kenny Donaldson, director of the victims’ group SEFF (South East Fermanagh Foundation). The Victims’ Payment Board stated that given the historical and sensitive nature of the subject matter, and the passage of time, it does make certain records difficult or impossible to retrieve. Nonetheless, the Board is committed to ensuring that the interests of victims are at the center of everything it does.
The Troubles was a period of conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted 30 years and cost the lives of over 3,500 people. The scheme, which opened in August 2021, provides payments to those who suffered physical or psychological injuries during the Troubles
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