British Army checkpoint at Buncrana Road Derry blown up in October 1990 by IRA ‘human bomb’ which claimed the life of Patsy Gillespie who was strapped into bomb-laden vehicle. His killers have never faced justice
It followed appeals by both victims and campaigners for the scheme to extended to allow all those affected by the Troubles to apply.
The Troubles Permanent Disability Payment (TPDP) scheme will stay open for future applicants until August 2026.
It offers payments to those who suffered physical or psychological injuries in the Troubles in the North of Ireland.
However, an element of the scheme – a one-off, tax-free payment backdated to 2014 – was due to close for applicants at the end of August 2024.
A fresh clause in the legislation meant that to get the backdated lump sum, applications also had to be submitted by the end of this month, August 31, 2024.
After that, successful applicants would only receive the monthly element of the payment scheme.
Lord Peter Hain, the former Northern Ireland Secretary of State, wrote to the then secretary of state, Chris Heaton-Harris, asking him to consider extending the back payment deadline.
In his letter, Lord Hain highlighted reasons why the cut-off point should be extended, including backlogs caused by delays in obtaining medical records.
He also told Mr Heaton-Harris that there were people who were eligible to apply to the scheme who did not know of its existence.
The new Northern Ireland Secretary, Hilary Benn, has now agreed to extend the scheme until August 2026.
Outlining the reasoning behind his decision, Mr Benn said: “Approximately 40,000 people were injured during the Troubles, and it is essential that we recognise the great hurt that was caused during this dark period in our history.”
Mr Benn said the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme, which is overseen by the Victims Payments Board, has made “progress in making acknowledgement payments to permanently injured victims of the Troubles”.
“But with the deadline approaching, there was a risk that some potential applicants would miss out on backdated payments,” he added.
“I have therefore decided to extend the period for which backdated payments are available by a further two years.”
He said he hoped the deadline extension will assist both those who have suffered and are applying to the scheme, but those who are supporting applicants.
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