Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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231. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the average waiting time for cases to be decided by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50163/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal administers the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted (General Scheme). Under the terms of the Scheme, the Tribunal is entirely independent in the matter of individual decisions on applications for compensation.

Tribunal members, who are practising barristers and practising solicitors in the Courts system, provide their services on a part time basis to the Tribunal. I have ensured that a full Tribunal membership has been maintained in order to continue to address claims as promptly as possible within the funds available.

However, it should be noted that while applications are processed with the minimum of formality compared to court proceedings where compensation is being claimed under the Civil Liability Acts, in making their decisions Tribunal Members must be satisfied that all supporting documentation submitted is in order.

In some cases there can be delays pending the availability of all required documentation, for example a Garda Report or further supporting documentation from the applicant. In the case of serious injury to the victim, it can take considerable time (and in some cases years) before a treating consultant is in a position to give a final prognosis. Accordingly, the processing time for each case can vary widely.

Insofar as average processing times are concerned, I can inform the Deputy that I have requested an assessment of the caseload of the Tribunal and have asked my officials to examine this assessment and seek the views of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal in this regard. I will contact the Deputy with further information in due course.

I can also advise the Deputy that, in view of the length of time since the Scheme was last revised, my Department has submitted a request for a review of the Scheme to the Law Reform Commission (LRC) for consideration in the context of its Programme of Law Reform.

Furthermore, in view of a number of large value awards in the current year, I can inform the Deputy that I have obtained approval for an increased allocation of €2.4m, for 2018, as part of a Supplementary Estimate for the Vote which will bring the total compensation allocation to €6.416m.