Northern Ireland Historical Abuse Redress Scheme News & Information.

NORTHERN IRELAND (NI) HISTORICAL INSTITUTIONAL ABUSE (HIA) REDRESS SCHEME.

News & Information

The NI Historical Abuse Redress Scheme has run into chaos and survivors there are up in arms. Scottish abuse survivors must learn the lessons from the Irish experience to ensure the same things do not happen in the Redress Scotland Scheme.

Givan and O’Neill to establish review of Northern Ireland redress processes. The Northern Ireland Executive, 5^th July 2021 (PDF format).

First Minister Paul Givan and deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill have announced the establishment of a review of the client journey for Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) redress to improve the experiences of victims and survivors.

First Minister Paul Givan said: “I have listened carefully to the views and experiences of victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse around engagement with the current redress process.” Full announcement here.

Comparative analysis of the Historical Institutional Abuse Redress Board. Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service Research Paper, 17^th June 2021 (PDF format).

Malachy Finegan abuse victim brands Dromore diocese redress scheme ‘a cynical exercise’. The Irish News, 10^th October 2021 (PDF format).

‘Serious review needed’ of redress scheme for survivors of institutional abuse. Rebecca Black, the Belfast Telegraph, 23^rd June 2021 (PDF format).

Gerry McCann from Rosetta Trust told an oversight committee that the current system is ‘not victim focused’ and ‘not working’. A “serious review” is needed of a redress process for survivors of historic institutional abuse, a Stormont committee has heard. Compensation has been paid out to those harmed in residential homes run by religious orders and the state since the fund was opened last year. However, the process for applying this redress has been criticised as “not victim centred” and “not working”.

Calls to overhaul ‘retraumatising’ compensation scheme for institutional abuse victims. The Irish Times, 5^th July 2021 (PDF format). A Stormont scrutiny committee chair has called for urgent reform of a compensation scheme for institutional abuse victims following concerns the process is “retraumatising”.

SDLP MLA Colin McGrath will lead an assembly debate today after receiving evidence from those who had used the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) redress scheme and found it “impersonal and judicial”. Mr McGrath, who oversees the Executive Office Committee is calling on First Minister Paul Givan and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill to listen to victims' testimony and review the “complicated” processes.

The initiative was set up following the HIA inquiry, which investigated decades of childhood abuse across a number of Northern Ireland institutions including church run facilities. In April, there were warnings it could up to a decade to process up to 5,000 applications for payment, which was branded “unacceptable” as the majority of victims are in their sixties and seventies.

Mr McGrath said: “It was chilling to hear survivors of institutional abuse relate their experience of the redress scheme to the MLAs last month. They have described a process that has made them feel degraded and dishonest and has ultimately retraumatised many. The state failed these victims once; we cannot allow it to happen again.” Full article here.