A British MP has written to Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill describing the failure to begin paying out a pension to those badly injured during the Troubles as cruelly playing “with the lives and hopes of victims”.
Simon Hoare, chairman of the House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee referred to reports that one of the reasons for the delay in implementing the pension was a Sinn Féin refusal to nominate a Stormont department to operate the pension.
Writing on behalf of the committee Mr Hoare told Ms O’Neill that for victims “this is only prolonging their wait for recognition and redress, which is already long overdue”.
“The Northern Ireland Executive and the UK government have a moral duty to those victims, and to delay the opening of the scheme over a political and administrative dispute is a failure of that duty that plays with the lives and hopes of victims,” the Conservative Party MP said.
“At a time when the public’s faith in the political process is not as high as we would all like to see, I would have hoped that you would be keen to make progress with a scheme designed to help those in need,” added Mr Hoare.
The practical effect of delaying the opening of the scheme “is that victims and their families will be cruelly denied the compensation that they have campaigned for many years to secure.”
The scheme which offers annual pensions of between £2,000 and £10,000 for people who suffered physical and mental injury during the Troubles was due to open for applications on May 29th.
However, Sinn Féin and some victims’ groups have argued that the terms of the scheme could be used to block people from a republican background who were injured during the conflict getting pensions.
Responding to Mr Hoare, a Sinn Féin spokesperson said there “should be no further delays in providing a pension for all victims of the conflict who were seriously injured”.
“The British government proposals on a victims’ pension are unfair and discriminatory and do not reflect the Stormont House Agreement,” added the spokesperson.
“We want to see a pension that meets the needs of all victims and the full implementation of the Stormont House Agreement.”
