Definition of Troubles victim compensation scheme ‘very restrictive'
Mr Justice McAlinden, president of the Victims' Payment Board, described the definition of the current scheme as 'very restrictive'.
He said he regrets that those who were bereaved in the Troubles are excluded from the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme.
However he also said he 'utterly rejects' claims that going through the application process was 'dehumanising, cruel, re-traumatising and ritual humiliation'.
'That's not the scheme that I am administering, it's not features of the scheme that I accept or that I consider are appropriate comments in the context of this scheme,' he said.
Appearing before the Stormont Executive Office committee Mr Justice McAlinden said it is a victim-centric scheme which tries to recognise the harm and hurt caused through the Troubles and provide financial support for those suffering from permanent disablement.
The committee heard that so far £90 million has been paid out by the scheme, which has been open for applications since 2021, and is set to close to new applications in August 2026.
Mr McAlinden said they have tried to extend the scheme.
'They are a section of those directly affected by the Troubles that are still left outside the scope of a bespoke scheme,' he said.
'A person is entitled to payments under the scheme if they suffer an inquiry which was caused by a Troubles-related incident when they are present at the Troubles-related incident or in the immediate aftermath.
'That is a very restrictive definition of entitlement… we've tried to extend that as far back as possible.
President of the Victims' Payments Board Mr Justice McAlinden gives evidence to the Stormont Executive Office committee (NI Assembly/PA)
'What we are trying to do is stretch the boundaries of this limited scheme to ensure that the clear deficiency and deficit, the absence of a scheme bespoke for the bereaved, does not have a hard edged damaging impact as it otherwise would.'
Mr Justice McAlinden also described the issues with the scheme as a 'microcosm' of the problems faced by Northern Ireland society as a whole.
He invited Stormont politicians to come together and develop a 'more rounded scheme'.
'The whole issue of victimhood is a divisive issue within our society, and it is so divisive that the local elected representatives were unable to agree a scheme that facilitated all views in terms of victimhood,' he said.
'So we had Westminster take up the baton and in essence impose a scheme which I think no one is very happy with.
'We have quite a limited and narrow definition of a Troubles-related incident, and we have quite a limited and narrow definition of victimhood and we have the exclusion of the bereaved.
'Those are issues that locally this Executive, this Assembly could deal with if they could agree. If they could bring their heads together, they could reconstruct this scheme.'
He went on to say he fully appreciates that paying money to someone who was injured as a result of involvement in an act of violence themselves 'retraumatises the innocent victims'.
He said it is a 'really thorny issue' and challenged MLAs on the committee to use good will and their life experience to try to reach agreement.
He added: 'This scheme is a microcosm of the problem that is societal.
'This scheme is a microcosm of the inability of people to recognise what went on in the past, recognise that there was fault on both sides, apologise and open up for the hurt and harm that they caused, and that's where I am very strongly of the view that this whole legacy process is so one-sided, because we have the state that has to open up, and we have the paramilitaries that are basically keeping shtum.
'That is unacceptable, if you want to move forward, everyone has to open up, everyone has to open the book, and everyone has to apologise sincerely for the harm and hurt that they caused.
'Now that's where this scheme attempts to give definition to the issue of reconciliation, because this scheme, even by its shortcomings, highlights the societal issues that we have to address as a society.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
9 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Benn defends collaboration with Irish Government over legacy issues
Mr Benn was responding after Gavin Robinson branded the UK Government minister as 'foolish and hapless' in relation to his handling of efforts to deal with the legacy of the Troubles. Mr Robinson claimed Mr Benn's actions amounted to a 'disgraceful' attempt to 'satisfy the Irish Government'. The Northern Ireland Secretary was asked about the remarks as he attended a meeting of the British Irish Council in Newcastle, Co Down on Friday. 'I make no apology at all for trying to work with the Irish Government, because the lesson, indeed exemplified by the Good Friday Agreement, is we make most progress when we work together,' he said. 'And that is what I'm determined to do in the interests of truth and reconciliation and, finally, giving answers to families who have suffered so much.' Mr Robinson's hard-hitting statement on Friday morning came amid mounting expectation that the two governments will soon set out an agreed framework for addressing legacy issues related to the Northern Ireland conflict. Also responding to the DUP leader's criticism, Irish premier Micheal Martin and deputy premier Simon Harris both moved to defend Mr Benn as they praised his efforts to work with their Government to try to resolve outstanding issues around unsolved murder cases and families who continue to seek truth and justice for lost loved ones. They also rejected Mr Robinson's assertion that the Dublin government has adopted a 'scandalous approach to legacy' in failing to rigorously investigate and provide answers on atrocities with a cross-border dimension. The DUP leader made his statement after Mr Benn announced the appointment of a chair to lead a public inquiry into the 1989 loyalist murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane. Mr Robinson believes the Finucane case is indicative of a government approach that sees the 'distasteful elevation' of some high-profile cases while countless other victims still await answers with no prospect of public inquiries. The DUP leader claimed 'Hapless Hilary' was pursing this stance while continuing to keep private any details on what he was negotiating with the Irish Government. 'The Irish Government have knowledge of and influence upon UK legacy plans, yet Northern Ireland victims, veterans and Parliamentarians are kept in the dark by the Secretary of State without so much as a blush on his face,' he said. 'Not for the first time, he advances a one-sided, partisan approach to the politics of Northern Ireland.' Since taking office last year, the Labour Government has pledged to repeal and replace some of the provisions of the contentious Legacy Act that was introduced by the last Conservative government, and bring forward a revised framework for dealing with cases linked to the Troubles. The Irish Government has been involved in the process, and political leaders in Dublin have said intensive engagement is ongoing to see if a 'landing zone' can be arrived at. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 halted scores of civil cases and inquests into Troubles deaths and also offered conditional immunity to perpetrators of conflict-related crimes in exchange for their co-operation with a new investigatory and truth recovery body. The Act was opposed by all the main political parties in Northern Ireland, the Irish government and many victims' representative groups. In 2023, the Irish government initiated an interstate legal case against the UK in the European Court of Human Rights, claiming the Legacy Act breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The case remains active, with ministers in Dublin wanting to see how Labour resolves its concerns over the legislation before any decision is taken to withdraw the action. Mr Benn told reporters in Newcastle that it was incumbent on all political leaders to finally secure agreement on legacy. 'Legacy is the unfinished business of the Good Friday Agreement,' he said. 'It was the issue which the Good Friday Agreement, which achieved so much, was unable to take forward. 'And I would simply say we, all of us, as politicians, as leaders, have a responsibility to try and find a way forward so that we can bring truth and justice for everyone, in particular for the families who, after decades, are still waiting for answers as to what happened to their loved ones when they were murdered.' At the press conference after the BIC, Mr Martin made a point of backing Mr Benn's stance. 'I firstly want to pay tribute to the Secretary of State for his honesty, his determination in the way he has pursued this issue of legacy, and indeed many other issues since he became Secretary of State,' he said. 'And we have welcomed his very open and determined approach. I would never question his bona fides in doing the very best for the people of Northern Ireland, and in terms of ensuring a very strong relationship between British and Irish Governments.' Mr Harris, who also attended the BIC summit, said the Governments were 'close to a way forward on legacy'. The Tanaiste added: 'And what I would say to Gavin, respectfully, and I said this to him when I met him, the country that I represent will play our part as well in relation to legacy, and we've shown that already on a number of occasions, and we will absolutely in any legacy framework want to make sure that all victims, all families, regardless of where on the island of Ireland an atrocity occurs, can get answers, can get truth, and can, of course, get justice where possible.' DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly echoed the sentiments expressed by her party leader as she answered questions on the controversy following the BIC. 'I think there's a lot to be critical about in terms of the approach to legacy by the Secretary of State,' she said. Ms Little-Pengelly said many of the issues Mr Benn was considering related to matters that were devolved to Stormont. She added: 'For our part, we are absolutely clear that all victims should get access to justice. All victims should feel very clearly in our system that their loved ones mattered equally. 'Unfortunately, we've had a number of announcements on part of legacy, but not on the rest, and that leaves many victims and survivors concerned about what's happening in relation to that.'
The Guardian
10 hours ago
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on riots in Northern Ireland: racist violence does not express ‘legitimate grievance'
A reputation for political violence is one reason Northern Ireland has historically attracted fewer immigrants than the rest of the UK. In that context, increasing diversity could be read as a measure of progress; a peace dividend after the Troubles. That isn't how it has felt to families cowering in fear of racist mobs this week. The riots started in Ballymena, ostensibly triggered by the arrest of two boys, reported to be of Romanian origin, accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl. A community vigil mutated into a racist rampage. Masked thugs targeted the local migrant population. When police came to quell the pogrom, officers were attacked with bricks, fireworks, petrol bombs. There was contagion. Windows were smashed and a fire started at a leisure centre in nearby Larne that had been used as a temporary refuge for those fleeing the Ballymena violence. There were outbreaks of disorder in other towns. Leaders from across Northern Ireland's political spectrum have condemned the violence. But on the unionist side in particular, there has also been much leavening of opprobrium with reference to 'legitimate' underlying grievances. Judiciously expressed, the complaint is that migration has been poorly managed, putting a strain on local services. In its more pungent iteration, it is the insinuation that new arrivals get preferential treatment, especially regarding housing. On the street, that degenerates into a miasma of hatred – a generalised accusation of parasitism and criminality imported by the foreigners. Rumour and disinformation, propagated online, accelerates collective movement through the gears from inchoate frustration to vigilante rampage. Northern Ireland is the least diverse part of the UK. Immigrants make up about 3.4% of the population, compared with 18.3% in England and Wales, and 12.9% in Scotland. But that comparison belies relatively rapid and concentrated demographic change in places such as Ballymena. And while sectarian violence is no longer endemic, the Troubles cast a shadow of intercommunal suspicion that makes it harder for outsiders to integrate. There is also a developed infrastructure of far-right extremism that evolved through close ties to loyalist paramilitaries. Those are distinct Northern Irish inflections on a problem that is far from unique to the region. The escalation from a single spark to a conflagration of violent bigotry is grimly familiar from the rioting that erupted across the UK last summer. Then it was the murder of three young girls in Southport that became the pretext for a malevolent carnival of xenophobic rage. Then, too, it was possible to excavate a kernel of socioeconomic grievance from the ashes. It is always worth tracking the underlying forces that lead to public disorder. But that analysis can also be used to sanitise and normalise the kind of political rhetoric that makes scapegoats of migrants and inflames the grievances it purports to address. There is no justifiable pathway from a complaint about inadequate public service provision and fear of crime to terrorising innocent people, destroying public amenities and attacking the police. There are places across the UK where deprivation and social alienation, simmering for years, can be mobilised as racist violence. There is a line between acknowledging the social conditions that make such a danger possible and narrating those conditions in ways that make violence more likely. The boundary is not hard to see, which brings all the more shame on the politicians who routinely cross it.
North Wales Chronicle
10 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Benn defends collaboration with Irish Government over legacy issues
Mr Benn was responding after Gavin Robinson branded the UK Government minister as 'foolish and hapless' in relation to his handling of efforts to deal with the legacy of the Troubles. Mr Robinson claimed Mr Benn's actions amounted to a 'disgraceful' attempt to 'satisfy the Irish Government'. The Northern Ireland Secretary was asked about the remarks as he attended a meeting of the British Irish Council in Newcastle, Co Down on Friday. 'I make no apology at all for trying to work with the Irish Government, because the lesson, indeed exemplified by the Good Friday Agreement, is we make most progress when we work together,' he said. 'And that is what I'm determined to do in the interests of truth and reconciliation and, finally, giving answers to families who have suffered so much.' Mr Robinson's hard-hitting statement on Friday morning came amid mounting expectation that the two governments will soon set out an agreed framework for addressing legacy issues related to the Northern Ireland conflict. Also responding to the DUP leader's criticism, Irish premier Micheal Martin and deputy premier Simon Harris both moved to defend Mr Benn as they praised his efforts to work with their Government to try to resolve outstanding issues around unsolved murder cases and families who continue to seek truth and justice for lost loved ones. They also rejected Mr Robinson's assertion that the Dublin government has adopted a 'scandalous approach to legacy' in failing to rigorously investigate and provide answers on atrocities with a cross-border dimension. The DUP leader made his statement after Mr Benn announced the appointment of a chair to lead a public inquiry into the 1989 loyalist murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane. Mr Robinson believes the Finucane case is indicative of a government approach that sees the 'distasteful elevation' of some high-profile cases while countless other victims still await answers with no prospect of public inquiries. The DUP leader claimed 'Hapless Hilary' was pursing this stance while continuing to keep private any details on what he was negotiating with the Irish Government. 'The Irish Government have knowledge of and influence upon UK legacy plans, yet Northern Ireland victims, veterans and Parliamentarians are kept in the dark by the Secretary of State without so much as a blush on his face,' he said. 'Not for the first time, he advances a one-sided, partisan approach to the politics of Northern Ireland.' Since taking office last year, the Labour Government has pledged to repeal and replace some of the provisions of the contentious Legacy Act that was introduced by the last Conservative government, and bring forward a revised framework for dealing with cases linked to the Troubles. The Irish Government has been involved in the process, and political leaders in Dublin have said intensive engagement is ongoing to see if a 'landing zone' can be arrived at. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 halted scores of civil cases and inquests into Troubles deaths and also offered conditional immunity to perpetrators of conflict-related crimes in exchange for their co-operation with a new investigatory and truth recovery body. The Act was opposed by all the main political parties in Northern Ireland, the Irish government and many victims' representative groups. In 2023, the Irish government initiated an interstate legal case against the UK in the European Court of Human Rights, claiming the Legacy Act breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The case remains active, with ministers in Dublin wanting to see how Labour resolves its concerns over the legislation before any decision is taken to withdraw the action. Mr Benn told reporters in Newcastle that it was incumbent on all political leaders to finally secure agreement on legacy. 'Legacy is the unfinished business of the Good Friday Agreement,' he said. 'It was the issue which the Good Friday Agreement, which achieved so much, was unable to take forward. 'And I would simply say we, all of us, as politicians, as leaders, have a responsibility to try and find a way forward so that we can bring truth and justice for everyone, in particular for the families who, after decades, are still waiting for answers as to what happened to their loved ones when they were murdered.' At the press conference after the BIC, Mr Martin made a point of backing Mr Benn's stance. 'I firstly want to pay tribute to the Secretary of State for his honesty, his determination in the way he has pursued this issue of legacy, and indeed many other issues since he became Secretary of State,' he said. 'And we have welcomed his very open and determined approach. I would never question his bona fides in doing the very best for the people of Northern Ireland, and in terms of ensuring a very strong relationship between British and Irish Governments.' Mr Harris, who also attended the BIC summit, said the Governments were 'close to a way forward on legacy'. The Tanaiste added: 'And what I would say to Gavin, respectfully, and I said this to him when I met him, the country that I represent will play our part as well in relation to legacy, and we've shown that already on a number of occasions, and we will absolutely in any legacy framework want to make sure that all victims, all families, regardless of where on the island of Ireland an atrocity occurs, can get answers, can get truth, and can, of course, get justice where possible.' DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly echoed the sentiments expressed by her party leader as she answered questions on the controversy following the BIC. 'I think there's a lot to be critical about in terms of the approach to legacy by the Secretary of State,' she said. Ms Little-Pengelly said many of the issues Mr Benn was considering related to matters that were devolved to Stormont. She added: 'For our part, we are absolutely clear that all victims should get access to justice. All victims should feel very clearly in our system that their loved ones mattered equally. 'Unfortunately, we've had a number of announcements on part of legacy, but not on the rest, and that leaves many victims and survivors concerned about what's happening in relation to that.'
