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Newsletter August 2011 This is the 21st 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 15,210 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 Pursuant to the provisions of section 8(2) and 8(3) of the 2002 Act the Board may, at its discretion and where it considers there are exceptional circumstances, extend the period for receipt of applications. Any applicant wishing to lodge an application after 15th December 2005 is asked to explain in writing to the Board why the application was not lodged in time. The Board considers each such submission individually. By the 31st July 2011 the Board had received 1,597 such submissions which were dealt with as follows; 762 submissions were accepted by the Board The Board would like to take this opportunity to inform all potential applicants that its power to accept late applications under sections 8(2) and 8(3) of the Redress Act 2002 will cease on the 17th of September 2011. Any such late applications received on or after that date will not be accepted by the Board. This means that the Board will not accept late applications received after midnight on Friday 16th September 2011. Please note that all applications must be submitted in writing. The Board is not in a position to accept applications electronically. To facilitate applicants the Board will remain open until midnight on Friday the 16th of September. Awards To date the Board has completed the process in 14,682 cases. 10,788 offers have been made following settlement talks and 2,968 awards have been made following hearings. 13 applicants have rejected their awards. 926 applications were withdrawn, refused or resulted in no award. By and large applications have been refused as, on the face of the documentation, the application was outside the Board's terms of reference as laid down in the 2002 Act. In other words, the applications did not relate to residential institutions as defined in the Act. These applications are determined by the Board immediately on receipt so that the applicant is informed at the earliest possible date that his/her application is outside the ambit of the redress scheme. The average value of awards to date is €62,878, 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 31 0.23% IV 55 to 69 €150,000 - €200,000 232 1.69% III 40 to 54 €100,000 - €150,000 1848 13.43% II 25 to 39 €50,000 - €100,000 6727 48.90% I Less than 25 Up to €50,000 4918 35.75% Total 13756 100.00%
Legal Costs To date the Board has paid legal costs to 917 firms of solicitors in respect of 13,101 applications. A total of €162.2 million has been paid, of which €11.7 million was paid in respect of associated High Court proceedings in accordance with section 27(2) of the Redress Act.
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