Minister pressed to grant more compensation to crime victims

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr O'Donoghue, is to come under pressure in the coming weeks to increase the amount of compensation paid to victims of crime.

Victim Support is soon to begin a lobbying campaign aimed at bringing about an expansion of the Department's criminal injuries compensation scheme and raising awareness about its existence.

"At present, the scheme is dealing with a very small number of cases and the amounts allocated are relatively small," said Ms Lillian McGovern, chief executive officer of Victim Support. "Also, people, by and large, don't know about the scheme because it's not advertised."

She said the scheme had been scaled down in the 1980s as a result of cuts in the Department. The pain and suffering of victims was withdrawn as a factor in the consideration of claims. "Basically, it has been reduced to a billpaying scheme for medical expenses," said Ms McGovern.

"The Government has said it would look at the issue and, now that it has the money, it should think about having an improved scheme which would take into account the full effects of crime on victims." She said Mr O'Donoghue might even consider introducing a tariff system, establishing set payments for injuries, like that recently introduced in Northern Ireland by the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam.

Victim Support is planning to establish a new advice service to help people file compensation claims under the Department scheme. She stressed that, from the organisation's point of view, the issue of compensation was "as much about raising awareness as lobbying".

The new lobbying campaign comes as Victim Support begins a new phase of its restructuring programme, aimed at creating a structure mirroring the divisional breakdown of the Garda Siochana.

Last week the organisation launched its new national headquarters at Haliday House, Arran Quay, Dublin.

At the launch, which was attended by Mr O'Donoghue, members of the judiciary and the Archbishops of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell and Dr Walton Empey, the chairman of Victim Support, Mr Donal Egan, congratulated the Government on its commitment to victims in providing additional funding to the organisation for the development of services.