Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)

I move amendment No. 6:

In page 10, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following subsection:

"(8) (a) The Board shall make provision for the setting up of an assessment panel consisting of four members of the Board, including the participation of the Chairperson, to examine applications to the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund, made by residents of former scheduled institutions who did not make an application under the Act of 2002 or who will have had a court determination made in an action arising out of their residency within a scheduled institution.

(b) The above assessment panel shall have the power to recommend to the Board the inclusion of former residents of scheduled institutions who qualify under section 7(1) of the Act of 2002, to make awards in accordance with this Act which are fair and reasonable having regard to the unique circumstances of each applicant.".

I referred to this earlier and I will not go over the ground too much again. The wording proposes that the panel would only examine applications from people who had not applied to the redress board. Anyone who had been turned down after applying to the redress board would, therefore, be ineligible to apply for assistance from the statutory fund. The conferring of the powers to assess applications on a sub-committee of the board would be a cost-effective and efficient way of examining applicants seeking assistance under the statutory fund. That is the rationale behind the amendment.