Payment scheme for Troubles bereaved 'needed quickly'

A senior judge has urged Stormont politicians to develop a payment scheme for people bereaved as a result of the Troubles.

Mr Justice McAlinden, president of the Victims' Payments Board, said it caused him "great upset" that many were ineligible for support under existing processes.

The board currently determines applications to a Troubles pension scheme for those who suffered physical or psychological injuries through no fault of their own.

Speaking at an assembly committee on Wednesday, the judge said that "something has to be done for the bereaved".

He warned they were being "retraumatised" through applications attempting to "expand" the scope of the current scheme.

"It does me great upset to think that there are a whole category of individuals, namely the bereaved, that I can't do anything for," he said.

It was a "nettle that has to be grasped by the politicians", he told The Executive Office scrutiny committee.

"We need a scheme for the bereaved. Let's work together and construct a scheme for the bereaved," he said.

Mr Justice McAlinden added it was "not beyond the wit and wisdom of the combined resources in this room" and the Northern Ireland Assembly to resolve the issue.

The judge was speaking during a committee session about the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme, which closes to new applications in August.

It offers payments to those who suffered physical or psychological injuries in the Troubles through no fault of their own.

About £139m has been paid to eligible applicants since the scheme opened, the committee was told.

More than 13,200 applications have been submitted, including about 950 from outside of Northern Ireland.

Almost 4,800 determinations have been made so far, with about 3,000 found to be eligible and the remainder ineligible.

Paul Bullick from the Victims' Payment Board told assembly members it could take five years to process all the applications.

He said that "most of the applications still have not been through the full process and they have to be determined".

Mr Justice McAlinden said he expected the continued administration of the scheme "will go on probably beyond my lifetime".

He told assembly members it was important to process the applications "as quickly as possible".

"Because delay is an enemy of healing. Delay gives the potential to prolong trauma," he added.

The idea of a Troubles bereavement payment was raised more than two years ago by the Commission for Victims and Survivors.

It could benefit about 13,000 people and cost upwards of £130m, according to an advice paper.

That would cover one-off payments of £10,000, which would apply regardless of the circumstances in which a person was killed.