Newsletter December 2012
Monday, 24th December 2012This is the 25th in a series of newsletters which the Board has decided to produce to keep applicants informed from time to time as to the procedures it follows and other developments. The Board's Guide to Hearing Procedures issued in April 2003 and in December of 2005 the Board issued the third edition of the guide.
Applications
The final date for receipt of applications has now passed and the Board has received a total of 16,081 applications.
The Board continues to process the remaining applications before it. In the course of the year the Board held a number of callovers with the solicitors on record to ascertain the up to date position with their cases. The Board will continue to hold callovers to ensure the expeditious completion of applications.
Applications Received after 15th December 2005
In accordance with the provisions of the Residential Institutions Redress (Amendment) Act 2011 the Board's power to accept late applications under sections 8(2) and 8(3) of the Redress Act 2002 ceased at midnight on the 16th of September 2011.
The Board had received 2,766 such submissions which to date have been dealt with as follows;
1,641 submissions were accepted by the Board
224 submissions were disallowed by the Board
151 submissions were either withdrawn or had their files closed
39 submissions were invalid
In 669 cases the Board is awaiting further information from the applicant
42 submissions remain to be considered by the Board
Any such late submissions received on or after the 17th of September 2011 cannot be accepted by the Board.
The Board will now continue its work until all applications (including late submissions) have been considered.
Awards
To 21st December 2012 the Board had completed the process in 15,397 cases. 11,236 offers have been made following settlement talks and 3,143 awards have been made following hearings. 16 applicants have rejected their awards. 1,018 applications were withdrawn, refused or resulted in no award.
The average value of awards to date is €62,860, the largest award being €300,500.
Redress Board Bands
The breakdown of awards by Redress Band is as follows:
Redress Bands | Total Weightings for Severity of Abuse and Injury/Effects of Abuse | Award Payable by way of Redress | Number | Percentage |
V | 70 or more | €200,000 - €300,000 | 43 | 0.30% |
IV | 55 to 69 | €150,000 - €200,000 | 261 | 1.82% |
III | 40 to 54 | €100,000 - €150,000 | 1954 | 13.59% |
II | 25 to 39 | €50,000 - €100,000 | 7019 | 48.81% |
I | Less than 25 | Up to €50,000 | 5102 | 35.48% |
Total | 14379 | 100.00% |
Legal Costs
To date the Board has paid legal costs to 970 firms of solicitors in respect of 13,754 applications. A total of €172.4 million has been paid, of which €12 million was paid in respect of associated High Court proceedings in accordance with section 27(2) of the Redress Act.
Christmas Opening Hours
The Board's offices will close on Christmas Eve and will re-open on Thursday 27th December 2012.
The Board and staff would like to take this opportunity to wish all applicants a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. A special note of thanks is extended to all those who contributed to the establishment of the Board and who continue to help us in our attempt to provide the best possible service to all applicants.
