Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

The Residential Institutions Redress Act was enacted on 10 April 2002. It provided for the establishment of the Residential Institutions Redress Board to provide a mechanism to make financial awards to victims of abuse to assist them in their recovery and enhance the quality of the remainder of their lives. It also provided an alternative to their having to pursue traumatic civil court cases to obtain compensation for their injuries. Notwithstanding this, the redress bands used by the board in assessing the amount of awards to be offered to applicants are in line with High Court awards made in personal injuries cases.

The redress board published information on its website, www.rirb.ie, on 11 May 2004 which indicates that 57% of cases that were sent to hearing after failure of the settlement process were increased, 29% had the awards reduced and 14% remained the same. The board also points out that settlement talks are considered following a request from the applicant, and the board neither encourages or discourages participation in these talks. An individual has the right to proceed directly to hearing.

The person referred to by the Deputy, who was dissatisfied with the outcome of the redress process, agreed to come off his hunger strike and has taken the option of recommencing his case in the courts. The Government has agreed to do everything it possibly can to expedite a hearing and has agreed that the case will proceed on an assessment of damages only basis. While the person referred to by the Deputy was dissatisfied with the outcome of his application to the redress board, the operation of the redress board and review committee must be viewed objectively and adverse judgments regarding the process should not be made on the basis of just one case. To date, a total of 3,540 applications have been made to the redress board and awards have been offered in over 1,000 of these cases. The remaining cases are at various stages of the redress process. This indicates a high level of satisfaction with the operation of the board and the process of redress.

I am aware that some of the groups who represent survivors of abuse have requested a meeting with officials to discuss issues regarding the operation of the redress board. This will be dealt with in the normal way by officials in my Department. I also understand that officials from the redress board have met group leaders as well as hosting general meetings where issues raised by the leaders have been discussed and clarified. I am satisfied that this process will continue.

The legislation setting up the redress board provides that applications coming before it are treated in a confidential manner. This confidentiality is required to protect the identity of applicants and because the redress board, when considering an application, is not permitted to address any issue of fault or negligence arising out of the evidence given in an application and is not empowered to make a finding of fact relating to fault or negligence with regard to evidence submitted with an application. It is my understanding that the redress process is working well and I am anxious to ensure that this continues. In the circumstances, I do not see a requirement to bring forward amendments to legislation which is working to the benefit of the vast majority of survivors.

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