Payments to families bereaved during the Troubles, including those who were paramilitaries, are being proposed by the Commission for Victims and Survivors (CVS). The suggestion was made in an advice paper sent to the Executive Office at Stormont. The scheme could potentially benefit around 13,000 people, with cost estimates at around £130m. The proposed one-off payments of at least £10,000 would apply to any deceased individual regardless of the circumstances in which they were killed.
Victims’ commissioner Ian Jeffers said that while the advice paper may be contentious, he sees the value of the proposed payments in promoting reconciliation. The CVS proposal echoes a similar suggestion made in 2009 by the Consultative Group on the Past. That suggestion called for £12,000 payments and was rejected because it lacked political support.
According to the paper, politicians would have ultimate authority to determine who “qualifying individuals” would be. Beneficiaries would include spouses/partners, parents, children and siblings, and each would be entitled to the payment in their own right. While the availability of funding remains an obstacle, the CVS report claims that position is “unsustainable” given the long-term impact of bereavement on families.
Alan Brecknell, whose father was killed by loyalists in 1975, stated that the proposed payments are long overdue but at this stage are mostly about acknowledgement. Brecknell considers himself fortunate that he and his family are comfortable, but others have not financially recovered from their losses. Jeffers urged decision-makers to act quickly on the proposal and start a discussion about acknowledging those bereaved as a result of the Troubles
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