Minister to amend crime compensation scheme after two men win High Court challenges

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Minister for Justice has moved to amend the State scheme for compensating victims of violent crime after Philip Bowes and Jason Dunphy won High Court challenges to their exclusion. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal had refused to consider their applications because they were outside the scheme’s time limits.

Mr Justice David Holland found that the scheme breached the legal principle of effectiveness because it lacked a transitional provision allowing applicants to seek an extension on exceptional-circumstances grounds. When the matter returned to court on January 30th, 2023, the State respondents said the Minister would amend the scheme, subject to Government approval. The judge said the matter could be relisted if the promised changes took too long.