Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal

(1) Role of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
(2) How it works
(3) What you can expect from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal
(4) If we do not meet your expectations
(5) How to contact us

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal runs the general compensation scheme for personal injuries that you may have suffered due to a violent crime*.

Currently the Tribunal consists of the Chairperson and ordinary members who are appointed by the Minister for Justice. The Chairperson and each member are trained in law. The Tribunal members make the decisions about applications independently. This means neither the Minister nor anyone else has a say in the matter.

The compensation scheme for personal injuries that you may have suffered due to a violent crime allows you to apply for payment for:

• expenses your incur, and
• losses that you may suffer

as a direct result of a violent crime, or in trying to prevent a crime or in saving someone’s life.

The scheme also provides for the dependents of a victim who has died due to a violent crime to receive a payment. However the scheme does not compensate you for pain and suffering.

*The Tribunal also administers a separate Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted on Prison Officers who suffer personal injuries due to a violent crime in the course of their duties.

• Tribunal members (or a duly authorised officer of the Tribunal in certain cases**) decide on each compensation case in the first instance.
• If you are unhappy with the decision in the first instance, you can appeal it. At the appeal stage you will attend a hearing with three members of the Tribunal. Any members who made the original decision will not be one of these three members at the appeal hearing.
• We will hold the appeal hearing in private and in an informal manner – you will not need legal representation. The hearing will generally be held remotely i.e. by teleconference or web-based video conference, or in certain circumstances it will be held onsite. While the hearing is in private, please note that the decision of the Tribunal, duly redacted to remove personal data, may be made publicly available.
• Usually compensation will be paid in a single payment. However, in certain cases, depending on the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal may make an initial payment in respect of vouched expenses incurred to that point and delay the final award until it becomes clearer what the long-term effect of an injury is likely to be.

The EU Directive on Compensation to Crime Victims provides for co-operation between EU member states, so that victims can get compensation for crimes committed in another EU Member State. We process claims from victims of crime who were criminally injured while visiting Ireland from other Member States and we also help people living in Ireland who were injured while visiting another EU Member State to send claims to the other Member States.

Separately to the scheme, victims of a violent crime could be awarded compensation by court order. A court may order an offender to pay compensation to a victim as part of a criminal case.

A victim may also take a civil case (or action) for compensation against an offender. (A civil action can include personal injury claims arising from the crime and are usually taken by individuals against other individuals or organisations.) It is up to the victim and their legal team to take this case. Criminal prosecutions, on the other hand, are prosecuted by the State, usually through the Director of Public Prosecutions.

When making an award, the Tribunal has to ensure that a person is not being compensated for the same injury from a different source.

Where someone receives compensation for the same injury from another source e.g. as a result of a court case, the Tribunal may decide that no award should be made or that the award should be reduced by a certain amount. They may also decide that where the Tribunal has already paid money to an applicant, the applicant should repay it.

**In accordance with the terms of the Scheme, a decision of first instance on an application may be made by a duly authorised officer appointed by the Tribunal (i.e. a Tribunal staff member), in cases where the amount involved does not exceed €3,000.

Applications must be made to the Tribunal as soon as possible but within three months after the incident. The Tribunal can extend this time limit where the applicant can show that the reason for the delay in submitting the application justifies an exception. No applications may be accepted by the Tribunal where the event giving rise to the injury took place more than two years prior to the date of application.

In accordance with a technical amendment to the Scheme approved by the Government in December 2023, a transitional arrangement for the submission of late applications will operate for a 12 month period only, from 31 January 2024 to 30 January 2025 inclusive. During this time period, applicants who were criminally injured after 30 June 2005 and before 20 April 2021 may submit a late application.

For full details please refer to https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/553af-terms-and-conditions-of-the-criminal-injuries-compensation-scheme/

To qualify for compensation, the incident must have been reported without delay to An Garda Síochána (or the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) in any case where the crime is alleged to have been carried out by a member of An Garda Síochána) and applicants must fully co-operate with those authorities.

Applicants must indicate if the incident is the subject of criminal proceedings.
In submitting an application, you should, if possible, include a copy of your statement to An Garda Síochána (or the Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission where relevant).

In considering applications, the Tribunal will seek a report about the incident from An Garda Síochána (or the Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission where relevant).

Applicants need to know that there are limitations and restrictions relating to the awarding of compensation. These are set out in paragraphs 6 & 7 and 9-15 of the scheme (inclusive). Before applying for compensation, applicants should review the terms and conditions of the scheme.

These are available on the Department of Justice website at http://www.gov.ie/criminalinjuries.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is a cash-limited grant scheme. This means that the Tribunal can’t pay out more funds in any one year than has been voted by the Dáil. So, if the Tribunal’s annual funding is used up before the end of a financial year (at 31 December) it generally has to wait until the next financial year before making any further payments to applicants.

You can apply to the Tribunal for compensation for a personal injury where the injury is:

1. directly due to a crime of violence, or
2. due to circumstances arising from action in assisting or attempting to assist the prevention of crime or the saving of a human life.

If you wish, we will work with a victim support organisation that is acting for you.

• give you information to help you complete the application for for compensation;
• work with you in a polite and professional way;
• send you the Tribunal’s written decision on your case;
• arrange for payment of compensation awarded to you as quickly as possible; and
• tell you of your right to appeal a decision of the Tribunal

You may be looking for compensation from another Member State within the European Union (EU) for an injury that you suffered as a result of a violent crime in that country.

• advise you about making a claim, or you can apply directly through the European Commission’s website at https://e-justice.europa.eu/content_compensation-67-en.do
• get an application form for you;
• translate the application form and your answers if the Member State does not accept applications in English or Irish; and
• receive correspondence on your claim from the other Member State, if you wish, and pass it on to you.

You can appeal a first decision of the Tribunal made by a Tribunal member or members or a first decision made by a duly authorised officer of the Tribunal.

If the administrative staffing service of the Tribunal does not meet your expectations and you would like to ask questions, make suggestions or make a complaint about the service, you can contact customer service in the Department of Justice at [email protected]

Address: The Chairperson, Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal, Department of Justice, Bishop’s Square, Redmond’s Hill, Dublin 2. D02 TD99

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.gov.ie/criminalinjuries