A new State body to oversee compensation for victims of violent crime is recommended by the Law Reform Commission, which says the current payments system is not fit for purpose.
The commission said compensation must also be extended to include “pain and suffering”.
Currently, only provable expenses are covered so victims may get help with medical bills and loss of earnings but nothing for trauma or ongoing pain.
The commission also recommended the definition of violence be broadened to include non-physical forms such as “mental or emotional harm or distress” including that suffered by victims of domestic abuse and stalking.
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The commission is an independent body established to keep the law under review and conduct research with a view toward various reforms. Its report calls for a “completely new compensation structure which is victim-centred and takes a rights-based” approach.
“This scheme should assist in the victim’s recovery from the crime of violence by providing fair, appropriate and timely compensation,” it says.
The existing Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is overseen by the Department of Justice. It paid out €10 million to 203 victims of crime last year.
However, it is not on a statutory footing so its funding is determined year-to-year and it has been criticised for having a cumbersome application process, with decisions often taking years.
An EU Court of Justice ruling last October said it was not living up to its duty of care to victims as specified under EU directives.
Ruth Maxwell, a victims’ rights campaigner and consultant who assisted with the commission’s work on the report, said her own experience of the scheme was still painful to talk about.
Maxwell was unable to work after losing the use of her hand from injuries sustained fighting off a knife-wielding serial sex offender in 2016.
She said she subsequently had to battle to retain her dignity through the compensation process. “It was hostile, it was contemptuous, it was constantly creating obstructionist tactics,” she said.
Maxwell said the new scheme, if accepted by Government, would be much improved. However, she was concerned by the plight of victims whose cases were now stalled as a result of last October’s ruling.
President of the commission, retired judge and former chief justice Frank Clarke, said the recommendations were heavily influenced by victims’ experiences.
“We took greatly on board the comments of people who had been through the system,” he said. “I’d like to think most of the concerns they expressed to us have been met in what we are proposing.”
Clarke said the first stage of the proposed new process would be “assistive”, with staff helping people to make their applications as opposed to requiring them to compile and present copious documentation themselves.
This should avoid the scheme becoming a “lawyer-fest”, he said.
The Department of Justice has been asked for its response to the proposals.
