Member's statement: Historical Institutional Abuse: Redress Deadline

Member's statement by Ms Paula Bradshaw on 21 January 2025.

MLA

Ms Paula Bradshaw

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

21 January 2025

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Historical Institutional Abuse: Redress Deadline

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4749517

Read the official Assembly record

Text

On behalf of the victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse (HIA), I appeal for an extension of the deadline for applications to the redress board past 2 April 2025. There are a number of arguments for that extension. First, I acknowledge the work of the HIA implementation unit in the Executive Office in using its contacts around the world to share leaflets and posters to try to raise awareness of the redress scheme and its efforts, over the years, to promote the scheme. We also appreciate the efforts of the Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional and Childhood Abuse and others in supporting the victims and survivors in making their applications. However, it has become increasingly evident that we have not located all the victims and survivors. In evidence to the Executive Office Committee this year, we heard of a gentleman in Fermanagh who had not heard about the opportunity to seek redress. We have heard countless other stories from people who are not resident in Northern Ireland and who had no idea about it. Secondly, the deadline is already very tight — 71 days from now — and refers specifically to the receipt of applications. In practice, that means that someone still considering applying, for whatever reason, is already close to running out of time to do so. In reality, they would have to access the relevant evidence that they need, get the documentation together, engage a solicitor and send it to the redress board well in advance of the deadline. As an important side note to that, last week, we heard at the Committee that some solicitors' firms have already stopped taking new cases. Although we are chasing that up with the Law Society, it compounds the issue as regards the appropriate support that the victims and survivors require. I do not think that it is appropriate, given that people may still be considering, for legitimate reasons, whether or not to proceed. Added to that is the reality that, for some of the years during which the scheme has been open, the world was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. Interactions between people were, obviously, very curtailed, and we saw a huge reduction in people travelling home to Northern Ireland during a significant period in which the scheme has been open. That leads me to the third reason: the presence of such a sharp deadline. That does not strike me as adequately trauma-informed. It puts significant pressure, not on the institutions responsible, which have never faced deadlines, but on the victims and survivors. Many of them, as I said, may still be considering whether to make an application. However, they must be given the choice, and they must be enabled to make that choice at the appropriate time, not under pressure because of an arbitrary deadline. I recognise that the ability to change the deadline is not straightforward, as it is defined in the Historical Institutional Abuse Act 2019, which was passed in Westminster. However, we in this legislative Chamber know that legislation can be amended where there are particular circumstances.

512 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:47 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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