Stormont given Troubles pension scheme deadline
Office has fortnight to pledge funding or face likely court order
STORMONT’S Executive Office has a fortnight to pledge to fund a Troubles pension scheme or face the likelihood of a court order, Northern Ireland’s most senior judge has said.
Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan indicated that he was “strongly minded” to impose the mandatory direction unless the department gives an undertaking to cover compensation due over the next financial year.
The development in legal action by one of the so-called Hooded Men follows reassurances from First Minister Arlene Foster that eligible victims will be paid.
Sitting in the Court of Appeal, Sir Declan said: “There is a statutory obligation on the Executive Office to pay the money. There is a First Minister who says that it will be paid, everybody recognises that the focus of this litigation is to provide comfort and security to those who have been victims and survivors of the most horrendous circumstances.
“It would require something quite radical to persuade us that the court should step back from making any effective order in circumstances where everybody is putting their hand up and saying I can’t pay.”
Earlier this year the court declared that the Executive Office is under a legal duty to fund the programme of pensions for those injured during the Troubles.
The ruling followed a long-running dispute between Stormont and Westminster over who should foot the bill for a scheme costing up to £1.2bn.
With deadlines then imposed in a bid to break the stalemate, lawyers for the Executive Office maintained that it currently does not have the money.
At a further hearing yesterday, appeal judges explored the issue of making a mandatory order.
The court heard how Mrs Foster told the Assembly earlier this month that victims and survivors will be paid when due, whether the money comes from Westminster or Stormont’s block grant.
Counsel for the Executive Office, Philip Mcateer, reiterated that it will continue to ask for the necessary funding.
Mr Mcateer argued that the proposed order would apply pressure amid a dispute between the Secretary of State and the Department of Finance which his client cannot resolve.
But Sir Declan insisted the aim was about providing reassurance to victims.
Although no final decision was made, the three-judge panel said they were “strongly minded” to compel action, covering the forthcoming financial year, on terms similar to those set out in the Assembly by Mrs Foster.
The legal battle has continued since the High Court ruled last August that the Executive Office deliberately stymied introduction of the scheme in a bid to force the UK Government into footing the bill.
With no order made to provide grant funding, Brian Turley appealed that outcome in a bid to ensure the financial package is immediately put in place.
Mr Turley was among 14 men detained, forced to wear hoods and subjected to special interrogation methods by the military. He took the original challenge to delays in implementing the pension scheme along with Jennifier Mcnern, who lost both legs in the 1972 IRA Abercorn bomb.
Afterwards his solicitor, Darragh Mackin, said: “Today’s decision in essence brings this saga to the conclusion it deserves.
“The First Minister has now in essence been invited to put the money where her mouth is, and to make the funding available in line with the very words uttered in the Assembly.”