Troubles pension: Stormont ministers to meet Brandon Lewis
- Published
Stormont ministers will meet the NI Secretary on Tuesday in a bid to resolve a row over funding a long-awaited pension for Troubles victims.
Earlier this month the Court of Appeal ruled the Executive Office was under a legal duty to make the payments.
It gave Westminster and Stormont a four-week deadline to make progress, with the scheme due to open next month.
Stormont's Department of Finance estimates the cost of payments to those injured could cost up to £1.2bn.
This is an increase on a previous estimate and Westminster has insisted funding should come from NI's block grant.
The scheme is due to run for two or three decades and payments are to be backdated to 2014, the year in which it was first agreed.
'Absolutely committed'
On Monday, Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said it remained her "firm view" that the British government should be funding the payments.
She told the assembly she would meet Brandon Lewis along with First Minister Arlene Foster, Finance Minister Conor Murphy and Justice Minister Naomi Long.
Ms O'Neill said the executive was "absolutely committed" to funding the scheme and wanted to reassure victims that efforts were being made to reach a resolution.
"We now have that meeting tomorrow but it's really important to have a real conversation about the funding - it was designed in Westminster and has significantly increased the costs," she added.
Since power-sharing returned in January 2020, estimates from Stormont for the cost of the scheme have been suggested to run to as high as £800m.
An actuary department at Stormont has estimated the cost of payments to those severely injured could now cost between £600m, up to £1.2bn, said Mr Murphy.
The executive argues that Westminster should help fund it, as it is a UK-wide scheme and people injured outside Northern Ireland will be able to apply.
Last year, a judge ruled that the Executive Office was acting unlawfully in delaying Troubles pensions, following a legal challenge from some victims.
Then in August, Stormont's Department of Justice was designated to administer the scheme.
No room in the budget
But in January, the Department of Finance did not set aside funding for payments in the draft budget for 2021-22, only the administrative cost of the pension.
Finance Minister Conor Murphy said a report by the government actuary estimated that the scheme could cost anything from £600m to £1.2bn, but it was hard to accurately predict costs ahead of the application process opening.
Finance Minister Conor Murphy said ministers were trying to resolve issues around the Troubles pension
He said ministers were trying to resolve the matter, but defended his stance.
"If we have to pay those costs, that will have a huge impact (on the NI budget).
"I have no desire to play off public services against the needs of victims, I want it resolved but the British government added substantial costs to this policy and therefore they have a duty to meet those costs."
What is the Victims' Payment Scheme?
The legislation came on to the statute book in January 2020. To qualify, applicants must have an injury which is severe and permanent and caused by no fault of their own.
That can be physical injury, such as a loss of limbs, or psychological, caused by being present at a bombing, for example.
The scheme covers violence related to the Northern Ireland Troubles between 1966 and 2010, including incidents in Great Britain and Europe.
Non-UK residents injured outside the UK cannot apply - such as victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings carried out by loyalists in 1974.
People will get between £2,000 and £10,000 a year for the rest of their lives.
Upon their death, a spouse or carer, will get the payments for a further 10 years.
The scheme is a recognition that criminal injuries awards from decades ago were largely inadequate.
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