UUP MLA and The Executive Office Committee Vice-Chair, Doug Beattie MC, has again called on the Secretary of State to step in on the Victims’ Payment Scheme and hand it over to the Northern Ireland Office to administer.
Doug Beattie MC MLA said:
“It is now clear that Sinn Fein are being totally disingenuous about the reason they are blocking hundreds of seriously injured victims from receiving money from the Victims Payment Scheme (VPS).
“It is worth highlighting that nobody is excluded from applying to the VPS but many issues will be taken into account when deciding if an applicant will receive payment or not. This is done by the President of the Judge-led board and is independent from government.
“Those who injured themselves creating victims - the terrorists - will not be eligible for payment. Those who were in prison for serious crimes such as murder and for deliberately targeting civilians may also be excluded from receiving payments but this will be for the President of the board to decide.
“This utter nonsense from Sinn Fein that thousands of republicans interned will be exempt from payments is just smoke and mirrors in an attempt to get some form of legitimacy for those who, under the republican terrorist banner, butchered men, women and children. No right-minded society would allow this to happen but in Sinn Fein’s perverse psyche this is normal; normal that those who created the circumstances that mean we need a Victims` Payment Scheme should then benefit from it.
“This impasse cannot continue, and Sinn Fein cannot be allowed to hold innocent victims to ransom for their own ideological gratification. It is now time for the Secretary of State – Brandon Lewis MP – to take this over and return it to the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) to administer from London. If it is a question of money then the UK Treasury can simply extract the Northern Ireland contribution from the Block Grant while ensuring they also assist with claimants from outside of Northern Ireland.
“It is time the Government stopped dancing to the tune of those who supported the murder and maiming of thousands of our citizens. It is time victims were front and centre and a date for the VPS opening was set, so victims can receive what they are now legally entitled to.”