A TROUBLES victim from Killough has given a cautious welcome to news that the Northern Ireland Executive will fund the pension scheme fund for those severely injured through no fault of their own during the Troubles.
Peter Heathwood is a member of the WAVE Trauma Centre which has been campaigning for years for a pension to be paid to its members. He was left paralysed as a result of a Loyalist shooting at his home in north Belfast in 1979.
The Troubles pension should have started last May, but a row broke out between London and Dublin as to who should pay for it along with issues defining what constituted a victim.
Confirmation that the scheme will be funded and those qualifying will be paid came in the form of a letter to the High Court on Monday which gave a clear commitment from the Department of Finance that the necessary funds will be made available when required.
There is no confirmed date as to when the payments – initially a one-off lump sum followed by annual payments – will start.
Mr Heathwood told the Recorder: “My reaction is I am glad that the courts forced the Executive to implement funding, but I am still cautious as there is no date set by them to open applications.
“Their previous conduct has been to keep kicking the can down the road, will they revert back to that tactic again?
“That’s my worry and the worry of other members of the WAVE Injured group who have campaigned for this pension for almost 13 years. During that 13 years we got tea and sympathy from our politicians but no action. Fingers are crossed that the courts are a powerful ally to our cause.”
Actor James Nesbitt, a long-time patron of the WAVE Trauma Centre, and former Secretary of State Lord Hain, both warmly welcomed the commitment this week.
Mr Nesbitt said: “This is wonderful news even if it is long overdue.
“I’ve known the members of the WAVE Injured Group whose tenacious campaigning made this possible for many years and you could not meet a more courageous and indomitable group of men and women.
“Despite their horrendous life changing injuries they don’t look for sympathy let alone pity.
“They fought for recognition for those like themselves whose lives were catastrophically changed in an instant. They were never in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Making this payment scheme a reality is an extraordinary achievement and I salute them.”
Lord Hain took up the Troubles Victims’ campaign in the House of Lords.
It was an amendment to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill laid by Lord Hain last July that ensured the payment scheme would pass into legislation.
Lord Hain said: “It is deeply regrettable that it has taken action in the courts more than once to bring us to this point.
“I sincerely hope that the path will now be clear for those injured through no fault of their own to see that which the WAVE Injured Group have fought so bravely for become a tangible reality.”