Injured terrorists’ pension plan sparks anger
MLA slams proposal and calls on Victims Commissioner to resign
A TROUBLES pension that could be claimed by paramilitaries is as unacceptable as giving one to an Islamic extremist bomber, an MLA has claimed.
Doug Beattie said the Victims Commissioner’s position was “untenable” after it was revealed that proposals for a pension for those injured during the Troubles meant a small number of those hurt while carrying out attacks could claim it.
Mr Beattie asked: “Would this be the advice if we were discussing the Manchester Arena bombing and would MPs really believe that to be appropriate?”
MEMBERS of Parliament wouldn’t accept Islamic extremist bombers receiving a special pension if they injured themselves, yet one is being proposed for former IRA terrorists who did, an MLA has said.
Ulster Unionist justice spokesman Doug Beattie called on Victims’ Commissioner Judith Thompson to step down after she claimed a pension for those injured during the Troubles enjoys broad political support.
The commissioner, whose advice was published yesterday, included a small number of those hurt while carrying out attacks among those eligible to apply for the special payments, prompting a backlash from some victims.
Mr Beattie said “those who were injured, through no fault of their own, deserve to be secure financially in the years to come”.
But he said he strongly opposes the idea that perpetrators of terrorist violence, injured by their own hand, should benefit.
He said the rules around eligibility should “be in line with the UK Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme where it states: ‘We can compensate blameless victims of violent crime, or people whose loved ones have died as a result of a violent crime’.”
“The key word being blameless,” he added.
The number of perpetrators who would be eligible is believed to be less than 10 but their inclusion has halted political progress for years.
Ms Thompson said legislation must be passed at Westminster to introduce payments. She said: “Whilst I acknowledge that there are sensitivities around eligibility for a pension, I am also very conscious that we have broad political agreement that this needs to be done for these people.
“We have a clear moral imperative to do it and there needs to be implementation now.”
Ms Thompson recommended it be paid in a tiered approach according to the severity of injury, and backdated to the December 2014 Stormont House Agreement.
Paul Gallagher was left in a wheelchair 25 years ago when loyalist gunmen in Belfast shot him after they were unable to find his neighbour. He said: “This pension arrangement will be small in relative terms to the Government budget but will be massive in terms of the good that it can do for the people on the ground.”
But the family of Co Fermanagh man Grant Weir told the BBC they will reject the pension if it is offered to ex-paramilitaries. Mr Weir was left brain-damaged when the IRA bombed his UDR patrol in July 1979. Sylvia Crowe, a missionary, was killed in the attack.
“As a family, we would never accept a payment if it meant that the people who went out to destroy lives, destroy families, were to be put into the same category... as Grant, whose life they have destroyed,” Debbie Palmer, Mr Weir’s sister, told the BBC.
Mr Beattie said: “We cannot accept the suggestion that those who detonated the bomb that injured Grant Weir and murdered Christian missionary Sylvia Crowe may now, perversely, qualify for a pension. Would this be the advice if we were discussing the Manchester Arena bombing and would MPs really believe that to be appropriate?”
He said the Victims’ Commissioner had “lost the confidence of victims and survivors throughout Northern Ireland. On that basis, her position is untenable”.
DUP MP Gregory Campbell said his party had put forward an amendment at Westminster that “means the government is now to bring forward proposals on the definition of a victim on a UK-wide basis” to “ensure innocent victims are recognised and protected in law”.
“During the consultation process on a victims pension it was very clear that the majority of victims do not want to see a pension paid to those injured as a result of their own actions. That would be a travesty,” he said.
Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry said it is time to deliver the pension.
“This can’t be constantly held back due to a debate on whether what amounts to fewer than 10 people are considered to be eligible or not. We are not going to get a perfect way forward on this. It just needs to be done,” he said.
Sinn Fein MLA Linda Dillon welcomed the announcement of a “pension for the most severely and permanently injured as a result of the conflict”.
“It is Sinn Fein’s view that the provision of a pension for all seriously physically and psychologically injured should be provided immediately,” she added.
SDLP legacy spokeswoman Dolores Kelly said the proposal for a pension for victims and survivors should now be taken forward.