By ALISON O’RIORDAN
Sunday July 18 2010
FIVE years after it was supposed to shut up shop solicitors are again touting for customers to claim compensation from the Residential Institutions Redress Board (RIRB).
So far, solicitors have earned €148m in fees and the RIRB is now preparing to accept more ‘late applications’. The RIRB has, to date, given out at least €800m in compensation to those who spent time in residential institutions.
Now, at least one Dublin solicitor is looking for ‘late applicants’ who didn’t claim– including the sons and daughters of those who were in such institutions to see if they are entitled to claim.
Where a person who is entitled to redress has died since May 11, 1999, the application may be made by his or her spouse or children. Burns Kelly Corrigan solicitors is just one of 856 firms of solicitors who have received a total of 12,034 applications for compensation under the scheme.
“Our firm has been involved with the redress board since 2005, and originally had thousands of applications,” said a solicitor from the firm. “We have got a couple of hundred of late applications, which have been successful. We charge no fee (to applicants) as the redress board pays our fee separately if the application is successful.”
With the final date for receipt of applications as far back as December 2005, victims still receive an average of €63,210 compensation.
The RIRB has so far completed the process in 13,743 cases, with 10,188 offers having been made following settlement talks and 2,741 awards being made.
The board refused to comment on how many applications had been made by spouses or children of those in care. It said the highest award so far had been €300,000.
The redress board was set up to make ‘fair and reasonable awards’ to persons who, as children, were abused while resident in industrial schools, reformatories and other institutions subject to state regulation or inspection.
According to the Department of Education: “The board is continuing to perform its functions including processing the remaining applications and when this process is completed, the department. . . will make the necessary arrangements for its dissolution.”
The final bill is expected to be around €1.1bn.
– ALISON O’RIORDAN
Sunday Independent
Have you considered asking a solicitor/lawyer to make the case to the Redress Board as to why your uncle’s application was late. The Board are considering ‘late applicants’. It’s worth a try. Paddy
my uncle was refused by the redress board because he was a late applicant he only asked for redress last year is there any further action he can take to get compensated
the government waited until after the redress on purpose so they could claim 50% back that is why they are politicians.
we have to highlight this cheating of our compensation every where at every poll office hand out cards to remind people of these underhand dealings.
children are last on this governments agenda.
BOTH THE GOVERNMENT AND CHURCH ARE 100% GUILTY OF CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN
YET THE GOVERNMENT WILL ONLY PAY 50% OF THEIR CRIME
when i went to the redress board . i was told that the church had refused to contribute to the redressment. now that thay have changed thier minds the whole thing should be redone taking into account that thay contribute as well as the government
IF YOU CAN FIND THEM
if you go to the redress use the ryan report as proof of the crimes committed against you it is all there in black and white make sure your solicitor uses it.
always remember you and all are witnesses of the crimes committed against you.
DO NOT LET THESE GROUPS INTERFERE WITH YOU THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS THEY HAVE COST YOU MONEY ALREADY FOR SIDING WITH THE VIEWS OF THE GOVERNMENT AND RELIGIOUS ALIKE.
IF YOU MUST USE A GROUP USE THE ONES THAT DO IT FOR THE SAKE OF THE WITNESSES WHO SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF THESE POWERS THAT BE.
kathleen thank you also i hope you and every single witness finds peace and answers to a better life in the future i thank paddy doyle for giving us our voice on his site also and wish him the very best for all his input for what is right for humanity here in ireland a great man for human rights i believe.
hey there are thousands of homes left to ruin all around the country that the government do not know what to do with them.
the answer is simple firstly give every survivor those homes they deserve them free.
they were even talking of giving them away freely or knocking them down.
prime time 29-7-10 watch it and put in a claim they owe us at least this.
THESE PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THESE HOUSES ITS AN INSULT. EVERY SINGLE SURVIVOR COULD HAVE A HOME AT LAST. HERE IS WISHING FOR JUSTICE OF COURSE.
hello everybody ‘ well i think this story of kathleen and her sister proves that little has been done , how could this have happened with all these people earning money and we are in 2010, good luck to both of you .
thank you robert for your kind words ive been folling you on site ive written to mary coughlan to make an appointment for a metting but i wont hold my breath well we will see what hapens keep up the good work robert
kathleen i wish you gal the very best of luck for you and your sister i trust the reunion will be good for you both.
i hope this will build some kind of life after the troubles we all have.
we can never forgive this state or religious while they still make bad decisions for children even today.
the cheek of this bishop who asks for forgiveness as they live like kings and drive around in big new cars.
very kind regards kathleen and i wish you the very best for the future from robert
just found out i have another sister im shocked now im on a misson to find her also found out that my father paid for me for seventeen years while in a hell hole and not even a much as a toilet roll just cut up news paper jesus just thinking about it im very very upset
i was wondering how others felt about the tables’. i felt upset because i dont think thay fitted my case. i have had operations to rectify the damage caused by voilence. and i have suffered througout my life. also i have spent lots of money on all of this . and there was me with oppertunities slightly under normal. its as if the pysical damage was unimportant. disabled for life dident matter much. all that was very unfeeling
a would you believe “faith in crises” was shown on rte last night 25-7-10 i was not surprised that rte did not invite many survivors. rte again has let down survivors they have not held anything on survivors views they are as guilty as the government and religious orders.
propaganda again at its best.
a while back last month i made a phone call to ask them to cover the issue on the funds before it is too late so all survivors would be aware this time BEFORE this decisions is passed by the government. i was hoping they would cover it on the frontline program. so the public would hear the truth from survivors.
it seems to me this topic as the redress as the ryan report as the murphy report are all too hot for this irish media to handle before conclusions.
this is 2010 think of this a moment why only so few channels here in ireland? yet most people only receive rte 1 rte2 and tg4 not tv3.
and their tv licensee is the highest in europe.
this is not a democracy.
this is a controlled media and a disgrace to the irish people.
There is nothing ‘fair and reasonable’ about what victims were awarded. The whole thing is an utter sham. The length of time a person spent in those institution was not even considered… why not? The truth of the matter is.. they didn’t care then and they don’t care now. The perpetrators of the imprisonment and severe brutality of innocent children in state care decided what was best for their victims. This just cannot be right. Would this have happened in any other country??. Can sombody please tell us if it was even legal? Gagging orders.. statutory trust fund.. it’s abuse all over again. Do we march again? Surely there is a way for all victims/survivors to rally together. We were silent for far too long.