Troubles victims' pension scheme opens after years of campaigning

A pension scheme for people severely and permanently injured in Northern Ireland's Troubles through no fault of their own launches on Tuesday.

The opening of the Victims Payment Scheme has been hailed as a triumph'' for campaigners who have been fighting for more than a decade.

It is due to go live at noon.

Members of victims' rights group Wave, who spearheaded the campaign for the scheme, will meet later at the Trauma Centre in Belfast.

Co-ordinator Alan McBride said, “This is a great day and this is a genuine good news story, one of the few to come out of the legacy of the past.

It has been a long and hard journey for the most remarkable group of people you could hope to meet.”

“They showed immense determination and refused to be deterred by setbacks along the way.”

“At times it was desperately frustrating, but they never lost their focus on gaining tangible recognition for all those like themselves who had been severely and permanently injured through no fault of their own.''

The scheme was legislated for at Westminster in 2019 and will be overseen by the Victims Payment Board, headed by Mr Justice McAlinden, which can allocate payments of up to #10,000 per year with a lump sum backdated to the signing of the Stormont House Agreement in December 2014.

Mr McBride added, “Today we'll also remember those who campaigned but didn't live long enough to see this day.”

“`People like Paddy Cassidy, who, like so many others, lived with constant pain yet came with us to London to lobby MPs and peers.This pension is a lasting memorial to them.''

Mr McBride paid tribute to those who supported the campaign, including barrister Stuart Magee, who was instrumental in developing the model of the scheme.

He also praised the work of former Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain.

Mr McBride said, “Without Peter Hain's constant support in the House of Lords, where he raised the issue at every opportunity and eventually gave the Government no choice but to pass the legislation, it simply would not have happened.”

“Everyone who will qualify for these payments owes Lord Hain a huge debt of gratitude.”

“We have every confidence in Justice McAlinden and his colleagues who are administering the scheme that they will do their utmost to ensure that it runs as smoothly as possible and that those who have suffered so much through no fault of their own can look forward to a more secure future.''