The Victims’ Payments Regulations 2020

Entitlement to victims’ payments

5.—(1) A person is entitled to victims’ payments in respect of injury caused by a Troubles-related incident if—

(a) the injury results in permanent disablement;

(b) the assessed degree of relevant disablement amounts to not less than 14 percent;

(c) the Troubles-related incident took place—

(i) in the United Kingdom, or

(ii) anywhere in Europe, at a time when the applicant—

(aa) was a British Citizen;

(bb) was a person born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Citizen, an Irish Citizen or is otherwise entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on the period of residence;

(cc) was outside the United Kingdom in service of the Crown, or

(dd) was an accompanying close relative of a person serving outside the United Kingdom in service of the Crown;

(d) the Troubles-related incident took place on or after 1 January 1966 but before 12 April 2010, and

(e) an application has been made in accordance with regulation 8.

(2) But this entitlement is subject to regulation 6.

(3) Paragraph (1)(a) does not apply to a person during an interim period specified under regulation 14(c)(i).

(4) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(c)(ii)(dd)—

(a) a person is the close relative of someone in service of the Crown if the person is—

(i) the spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner of the person in service of the Crown;

(ii) a child under the age of 18 of the person in service of the Crown or of a person to whom sub-paragraph (i) applies;

(iii) a child of the person in service of the Crown who is dependent on that person as a result of disablement;

(b) a person was an accompanying close relative of a person in service of the Crown if they were a close relative and living with that person in the same household.

(5) Paragraph (1)(d) does not apply in any case where a panel considers that the application of that paragraph would undermine the purposes of this Scheme.

(6) For the purpose of paragraph (5), the purposes of this Scheme are to—

(a) acknowledge the harm suffered by those injured in the Troubles, and

(b) promote reconciliation between people in connection with Northern Ireland’s troubled past.