A survivors group has criticised the redress board set up to compensate victims of institutional abuse as the deadline for applications approaches, urging people who have yet to apply “not to bother” as they could be “retraumatised” in the process.
The Historical Institutional Abuse Redress Board began payments to victims in 2020, following the conclusion of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry four years earlier.
To date, it has paid out more than £90m to over 3,600 applicants, with a standard award being £10,000, and the maximum payment £80,000.
The maximum payment was made last month to the victim in “one of the most severe cases” brought before the board.
The inquiry report, published in 2017, recommended compensation to victims after the two-year probe that examined evidence relating to residential care homes run by the state, religious organisations and charities in the north between 1922 and 1995.
Applications to the redress board are set to close on April 2, with some campaigners calling for an extension to the closing date.
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However, John Scappaticci, of the St Patrick’s Survivors Group, has warned those yet to apply that the process is “not fit for purpose” and they should instead focus on seeking redress through a civil case.
The redress board has made 523 ‘no award’ determinations regarding applicants within its jurisdiction.
There were 124 other ‘no award’ determinations that had been made were overturned on appeal, and award payments agreed.
“It’s time this scheme was closed down as it’s not fit for purpose,” Mr Scappaticci, who attended St Patrick’s Training School in west Belfast in the early 1990s, said.
He said he was eventually successful in his own application to the redress board, but went though an appeal after being made an offer he believed was too low.
“In my experience survivors who had their lives devastated have had to fight tooth and nail to get compensation that in many cases is less than you might get if you tripped over a pavement and were injured.
“I know many victims who began the redress process and walked away from it frustrated and even retraumatised.
“Some have had to read statements from their abusers essentially calling them liars.
“This process was flawed from the start. There should have been a base amount given to all those who were sent to these institutions for example, so that at least all victims would have walked away with something.”
Mr Scappaticci added: “I would honestly say to those who have yet to come forward to the redress board, not to bother, and to take a civil case if possible.
“The whole institutional redress scheme to come to an end - victims and survivors need closure.”
The HIA Redress Board is overseen by The Executive Office, which has been approached for comment.
