Historical institutional abuse: £54m compensation paid to survivors

The redress board was set up to process applications of survivors of institutional abuse

About £54m of compensation has been paid to survivors of historical institutional abuse (HIA) in Northern Ireland.

Of the 3,191 applications received, 88% have been before a panel.

The figures were revealed by Mr Justice Fowler on Monday as he took over as president of the Historical Institutional Abuse Redress Board.

The board, which was set up to process applications, began issuing payments in 2020.

In April of last year, a Stormont committee was told it could take up to 10 years to process the expected 5,000 applications for compensation from survivors of historical institutional abuse.

The compensation was agreed following recommendations from the HIA Inquiry, which investigated decades of abuse across a number of Northern Ireland institutions.

The inquiry was formally set up in 2012 and chaired by retired high court judge Sir Anthony Hart.

During the inquiry, 246 individuals gave evidence in person.

A further 87 statements were read into the record, with some former residents too unwell to attend the hearings.

Sir Anthony, who died in 2019, concluded there was widespread abuse and mistreatment of young residents at the institutions under investigation.

On Monday, Mr Justice Fowler said he was "committed, where possible, to continually improving those services for which the redress board is solely accountable".

"However, as with my predecessor, I also look forward to the delivery of the wider redress scheme support services, from other responsible bodies, as set out in Hart Report and required in legislation, to effectively support applicants to the redress board."