Criminal Injuries Compensation in Ireland for Families After a Fatal Crime
What the State Scheme pays dependants after a violent death, and how it differs from a civil personal injury claim. Talk to us in confidence: 01 9036408 • Gary Matthews, Solicitor, Law Society PC No. S8178 •
If a family member was murdered or killed in a violent assault in Ireland, their dependants can apply to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal. It pays funeral costs, pre-death losses, loss of support, and a capped mental distress payment (Citizens Information, April 2025) [1].
Under section 49 of the Civil Liability Act 1961 the mental distress payment cannot exceed €35,000 in total for the whole family [1]. Everything else the Scheme pays is money the family has actually lost or spent, vouched with documents.
This is separate from a civil personal injury claim, which is brought against a person or organisation legally responsible for the death. Knowing which of the two routes fits your family is the first practical step in pursuing compensation for injury in Ireland after a violent death.
Contents
Can a family claim compensation after a death caused by a crime in Ireland?
Yes. Where a person is murdered, or dies from manslaughter or a violent assault in Ireland, their dependants can apply to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal. The Scheme calls this a death resulting from a crime of violence.
The Tribunal runs the State scheme for injuries suffered because of a violent crime. That scheme also provides for the dependants of a victim who has died to receive a payment [2].
This is a State scheme, not a court case. Nobody is sued, no insurer is involved, and the money comes from public funds. That matters, because after a homicide the person responsible usually has nothing to pay with, and often nobody has been convicted.
Jurisdiction: unlike in England and Wales, which operate their own separate scheme, in Ireland this route is run by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal. Northern Ireland runs a third scheme again. None of the rules set out here apply to a death that happened outside the Republic of Ireland.
Two conditions run through every application. The crime must have been reported without delay to An Garda Síochána, and the family must co-operate fully with the investigation [1]. A conviction is not required. Many families apply while a prosecution is still running, or where nobody was ever charged.
Where an Irish resident is killed by a crime in another EU Member State, the application is made under that State’s scheme rather than to the Tribunal here. The Tribunal’s secretariat will try to assist an Irish resident making such an application, and will make contact with its counterparts in the other jurisdiction as necessary [7].
A death caused by a road traffic offence sits outside the Scheme, unless the Tribunal decides there was a deliberate attempt to run the person down [1]. Our guide to who can claim criminal injuries compensation covers the general conditions in full.
Who counts as a dependant?
A dependant is defined by section 47 of the Civil Liability Act 1961. The definition includes a spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, step-parent, child, grandchild, step-child, brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister of the person who died [3].
Two groups surprise families most often, because both sit outside the obvious list.
| Category | What section 47 requires |
|---|---|
| Immediate and extended family | Spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, step-parent, child, grandchild, step-child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister [3] |
| Cohabiting partners | A person not married to or in a civil partnership with the deceased, who had been living with them as a cohabitant for a continuous period of not less than three years up to the date of death [3] |
| Former spouses and partners | A person whose marriage or civil partnership with the deceased was dissolved by a decree recognised in the State [3] |
The three-year cohabitation period is a hard edge. A partner who had lived with the person who died for two years and ten months is not a dependant under section 47, however close the relationship was. Nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and friends are outside the definition too, no matter how much they relied on the person who died.
An aunt or a friend who paid for the funeral is in a different position. That is worth raising with the Tribunal directly rather than assuming nothing can be recovered.
Families apply using the Fatal Injury Application Form, which can be downloaded from the Tribunal website. Every dependant within the 1961 Act definition must be declared, not only the ones who intend to claim. Where a dependant wishes to waive their entitlement, the Tribunal requires either a signed waiver, if that dependant is over 18, or an original birth certificate if they are not. The Tribunal considers all dependants in deciding how to allocate the €35,000 [1].
The same statutory definition governs a civil fatal claim, so the list of people entitled to be considered is identical on both routes. The differences lie in what each route pays and who pays it. Our reference page on the Civil Liability Act 1961 sets out Part IV in full, and our guide to who can claim covers the civil side.
What can dependants claim from the Scheme?
Dependants can claim funeral and burial costs, the deceased’s losses before death, future loss of financial support, and a mental distress payment. Everything except the mental distress payment is compensation for money, not for grief, and every element has to be vouched.
| Head of loss | What it covers | Evidence that supports it |
|---|---|---|
| Losses before death | Actual loss of earnings and expenses that may have been incurred before the death [1] | Payslips, employer letter, receipts, medical bills for the period between the attack and the death |
| Loss of support | Future loss of support or maintenance for anyone who was dependent on the victim [1] | Proof of earnings, household outgoings, evidence of what the person contributed |
| Funeral and burial | Costs of funeral and burial expenses [1] | Undertaker’s invoice, cemetery and headstone receipts |
| Mental distress | An award under the Civil Liability Act 1961 for the distress the death caused the dependants | Proof of the relationship. No medical or psychiatric report is needed |
Loss of support is usually the largest element and the one most often understated. It is not limited to wages. Where the person who died did the childcare, ran the farm, or cared for a parent, that work had a real value. The household now has to pay for it or go without.
There is no cap on loss of support in the way there is on mental distress. What limits it is evidence. A family that can show what came into the house each week, and what went out on the household, is in a far stronger position than one relying on recollection.
A caution about the estate. This is compensation for the dependants themselves, not a fund for the deceased’s estate. That distinction changes who fills in the form and who ultimately receives the money. It causes real confusion where a will is being administered at the same time.
The non-fatal side of the Scheme works differently, and our guide to what criminal injuries compensation covers deals with injuries the victim survives. For the civil equivalent of loss of support, see dependency claims.
How the €35,000 mental distress payment actually works
The €35,000 is a single overall maximum shared by all dependants together. It is not €35,000 for each family member. This is the most misunderstood figure in Irish fatal compensation.
In fatal cases an award for mental distress experienced by dependants may be made under the Civil Liability Act 1961, and the maximum amount cannot currently exceed €35,000 [1]. The statute is explicit about what that ceiling applies to. Section 49(1)(b) provides that “the total of any amounts awarded by virtue of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not exceed €35,000” — subparagraph (a)(ii) being the mental distress element [4]. The word doing the work there is “total”.
Why this matters in practice. A widow with four children is not looking at five awards. She is looking at one pot, which the Tribunal divides. The size of the family does not change the ceiling, and a larger family means each share is smaller.
The Act provides reasonable compensation for mental distress to each of the dependants. The amount recovered is then divided among the persons entitled in such shares as may be determined [4]. So the Tribunal decides two things: whether to make an award at all, and how to split it. Closeness of the relationship and the degree of distress shown are what drive the split.
No medical report needed. Mental distress here is not a diagnosis to be proved by a consultant. It is the grief the law presumes follows a death, and the proof required is the relationship, not a psychiatric assessment.
The current ceiling was set by the Civil Liability Act 1961 (Section 49) Order 2014, S.I. No. 6 of 2014 [4]. It has not moved since, and it is a ceiling that only a ministerial order under section 49(1A) can raise.
If the death happened before 2014, the ceiling is lower. The date of death fixes which ceiling applies, not the date of the application. The published decisions further down this page show both ceilings in use [9].
The same statutory ceiling applies in a civil fatal claim, because both routes draw on the same section of the same Act. What differs is who pays it and what else can be recovered alongside it. Our guide to the civil mental distress payment covers that side.
How long does a family have to apply?
Three months. An application must be made in writing within three months of the incident, and it should be made as soon as possible [1]. That is the shortest deadline most bereaved families in Ireland will ever face, and it falls in the worst possible weeks.
The Tribunal can accept a late application in exceptional circumstances, up to a maximum of two years after the incident. As a general rule, and subject to any transitional arrangement then in force, no application may be accepted beyond that outer limit [1] [2].
The distinction that catches families out. Unlike in England and Wales, in Ireland this deadline sits outside the ordinary limitation rules. It is a condition of the Scheme, not a statutory limitation period.
It is also far shorter than the two-year limit that governs a civil claim under the Statute of Limitations. The two are constantly conflated, including on legal websites. A family that assumes it has two years can lose the Scheme route entirely.
Grief, an ongoing Garda murder investigation, a delayed inquest and a criminal trial that has not started are all realities the Tribunal deals with regularly. None of them stops the clock automatically. The safest course is to lodge the application within three months, even in outline, and to supply supporting documents as they become available.
If more than three months have already passed, the position is not necessarily hopeless, but it is now a discretionary application rather than an application as of right. Explaining the delay honestly and with dates is what matters. The Law Reform Commission has recommended a two-year limit, with a power to accept out-of-time applications up to ten years after the crime where there is good reason for the delay and the application can be dealt with fairly, but that recommendation is not law [6].
Our guide to criminal injuries compensation time limits covers late applications and the Tribunal’s discretion in full.
Check your dates
Two of the questions on this page turn on the same single fact: the date the person died. That date decides which application window your family is in, and it decides which mental distress ceiling applies. The tool below does that arithmetic for you.
It does not estimate what a claim is worth, and it does not tell you whether an application will succeed. It restates two published rules against a date. Everything it can tell you is also written in plain text on this page, so nothing is hidden behind a click.
The two rules it applies. An application must be made in writing within three months of the incident. The Tribunal can accept a late application in exceptional circumstances up to a maximum of two years [1]. The mental distress ceiling is €35,000 for deaths from 11 January 2014 onwards, and the Tribunal’s published decisions on earlier deaths award a maximum of €25,394.76 [9].
Enter the date above to see which window applies and which ceiling is in play. If this tool does not load, the two rules are stated in full immediately above it.
If the tool tells you that you are outside three months, that is not the end of it. One published decision admitted an application made about 19 months after the death, taking account of the applicant being traumatised and unfamiliar with the Scheme [9]. What matters is being able to explain the delay with dates.
If it tells you that you are beyond two years, the Scheme route is generally closed — but transitional arrangements have opened it before and the Scheme as amended on 27 July 2026 provides for them again, so that is worth checking rather than assuming. A civil claim against a third party runs on different time limits and should be checked separately.
Scheme or civil claim: which route fits your family?
The Scheme pays limited financial loss from a State fund. A civil claim seeks full damages from whoever is legally responsible. They are separate routes with separate rules, and for some families both are open at once.
| Question | Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme | Civil fatal claim |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays? | The State, from public funds | The person or organisation legally responsible, or their insurer |
| What has to be proved? | Eligibility, and the loss itself | Legal responsibility for the death, and the loss |
| What is recoverable? | Vouched financial loss plus the capped mental distress payment | Loss of dependency, funeral costs and the same statutory mental distress payment |
| Deadline | Three months, extendable to two years in exceptional circumstances [1] | Generally two years under the Statute of Limitations |
| Legal costs | Not awarded by the Tribunal [1] | Usually recoverable from the losing side if the claim succeeds |
The practical question is whether anyone other than the attacker bears legal responsibility. Where a person was killed by a stranger in the street, usually nobody does, and the Scheme is the only realistic route. Suing an attacker who has no assets produces a judgment, not a payment.
Where the death happened somewhere with a duty to keep people safe, the picture changes. A licensed premises, an employer, or a body responsible for security may carry legal responsibility of its own. That is a civil route, and it is not limited in the way the Scheme is.
Both at once. The two routes are not mutually exclusive, but a family cannot be paid twice for the same loss. Compensation received from another source is taken into account by the Tribunal [1], so the sequencing of the two applications matters and is worth planning at the outset.
Our detailed comparison of criminal injuries compensation vs civil claim works through the third-party liability question in full. Our guide to fatal injury claims in Ireland covers the civil route. Both sit within the wider framework of personal injury claims in Ireland.
What can reduce or refuse a family’s award?
The Tribunal can reduce or refuse an award because of the victim’s own conduct, character or way of life, and it deducts other payments the family receives. These are the parts of the Scheme families are least often warned about, and they change what a realistic outcome looks like.
The conduct and character rule
No compensation is payable where the Tribunal is satisfied that conduct, character or way of life make it inappropriate. The Tribunal may also reduce an award for the same reasons [7]. In a fatal case, the conduct examined is that of the person who died, not the family applying [8] [9].
This is paragraph 13 of the Scheme, and the Tribunal indexes its published decisions by it, under the heading “Paragraph 13 (previously 14): Victim’s conduct, character or way of life” [9]. Older decisions cite the same rule under its earlier numbering: F/51030 refuses the application under “Article 14 of the scheme”, so both labels describe the same power [9].
The distinction matters when reading older material, which often cites Article 14 for a rule the Tribunal now decides under paragraph 13.
Families are usually told the conduct rule can defeat a claim. That is true but incomplete. The published decisions show the Tribunal moving along a range, and a reduction is a more common outcome than an outright refusal.
The full range of published outcomes, from a complete award through a halved award to a refusal, is set out further down this page.
The Tribunal publishes its decisions on gov.ie, indexed by the paragraph of the Scheme they address, covering decisions from 2011 to 2024 [9]. Reading how the conduct rule has actually been applied is more useful than any general description of it. It is one of the few places where the Scheme’s reasoning is visible.
Deductions, thresholds and costs
A family cannot be doubly compensated for the same loss. The Tribunal takes account of social welfare payments, agriculture payments, salary or wages received while on sick leave, and any compensation paid by or on behalf of the offender [1].
Two further limits apply. No compensation is paid if the loss suffered is less than €500, which is the current minimum level of award [1]. And the Scheme makes no provision for awarding legal costs, so the Tribunal cannot make any award for the cost of legal representation [1].
There is one more rule that catches a specific and painful situation. Where the victim survived the attack but then died of unrelated causes, compensation is not provided for loss of earnings, expenses and liabilities incurred before the death. The exception is where the Tribunal considers that refusing would cause hardship to the dependants [1]. It is a narrow exception, and it is one worth raising expressly rather than hoping the Tribunal notices the hardship on its own.
How the Tribunal has actually decided fatal cases
The Tribunal publishes its decisions, and reading them is the closest a family can get to knowing what to expect. Three published fatal decisions show the pattern more honestly than any general description [9].
| Decision | Allowed | Refused | Mental distress, and how it was split |
|---|---|---|---|
| F/53762, 13 February 2024 | Mental distress in full | Out-of-pocket expenses, for want of receipts | €15,000 to the partner and €20,000 to the deceased’s young son, the son’s share to be invested until he turns 18 |
| F51061, 27 January 2024 | Out-of-pocket expenses of €2,918, of which €2,818 was funeral-related | Loss of financial support, for want of documentary proof, and legal fees | The whole solatium to the applicant father, other dependants not being traceable |
| F/52353, 3 November 2022 | Funeral expenses of €3,435 | An unvouched clothing claim | Split six ways: €10,000 to one dependant, €7,394.76 to the father, and €2,000 each to four others |
What these awards actually totalled. In F51061 the total award came to €28,312.76, made up of €2,918 out-of-pocket expenses and €25,394.76 solatium. In F/52353 the equivalent total was €28,829.76, being €3,435 funeral expenses and €25,394.76 solatium [9].
Those totals are the realistic shape of a fatal award where loss of support is not established: funeral and related costs, plus the mental distress payment, and little else. Where loss of support is properly evidenced, the total is higher, and there is no statutory ceiling on that element.
Which ceiling applies, and how the payment is split
Two of those three decisions awarded €25,394.76 rather than €35,000. That is not an error. In F/53762 the Tribunal recorded that solatium for deaths from 11 January 2014 onwards is capped in law at €35,000 [9].
What this means. The statutory order applies to a cause of action accruing while it is in effect, which in a fatal case is the date of death. So it is the date of death that fixes the ceiling, not the date the family applies. Where the death was before 11 January 2014, the Tribunal’s published decisions award a maximum of €25,394.76.
In F/52353 the Tribunal divided the payment between six dependants, and the shares ranged from €10,000 down to €2,000, with the applicant father receiving €7,394.76 [9]. In F51061 a father received the entire amount, because the whereabouts and relationships of other dependants could not be established [9].
So the arithmetic is not a headcount. Where a child is involved, the Tribunal can direct that the share be invested until the child turns 18, as it did with the €20,000 share in F/53762 [9]. Families should not assume a minor’s share will be available to the household in the meantime.
What gets refused, and when a late application is admitted
All three decisions refused something, and in every case the reason was documents rather than principle. Out-of-pocket expenses failed for want of receipts. A claim for monthly financial support of the household failed because no bank statements or receipts were produced. A clothing claim failed because it was unvouched [9].
The practical lesson. That is the most useful thing in the whole collection. The heads of loss are rarely the problem. The proof is, and receipts gathered in the first weeks are worth more than argument later.
In F51061 the application was made about 19 months after the death, well outside the three-month rule, and the Tribunal admitted it [9]. It took account of the applicant being psychologically traumatised and unfamiliar with the Scheme while living abroad. In F/53762 a late application was admitted because of the horrendous nature of the crime and the turmoil that followed.
None of that makes the deadline safe to ignore. It does show that a family who has already missed three months has something real to argue. The Department itself notes that it may take several years before an application is ready for submission to the Tribunal [5].
If the person who died had a criminal record, what actually happens?
The outcome ranges from a full award to a complete refusal, and the Tribunal’s published decisions show every point in between. This is the question families in this position most want answered, and it is answerable from the record rather than from general warnings.
| Outcome | Decision | What the Tribunal did |
|---|---|---|
| Full mental distress award | F/53762, 13 February 2024 | The whole €35,000 awarded and apportioned between a partner and a young son [9] |
| Reduced by half | F/53765, 28 February 2023 | The award cut by 50 per cent to €17,500 under paragraph 13, because of the deceased’s previous convictions [9] |
| Refused outright | F/51030, 24 September 2015 | A mother’s application refused, her son having 38 previous convictions [9] |
| Refusal upheld on review | [2024] IEHC 143 | The High Court dismissed a challenge by the children of a man shot dead [8] |
In the reduced case the Tribunal still apportioned what remained. It gave €12,500 to the applicant mother to distribute among the other statutory dependants, and €5,000 to a further named dependant [9]. A reduction is not a rejection of the family.
Why this matters more than families are usually told. Of the fatal decisions the Tribunal has published, more are listed in its index under paragraph 13 than under any other paragraph of the Scheme — twenty-three listings, against seven under the next-highest heading [9]. The conduct rule is not a rare edge case in fatal applications. It is the single most contested issue in them.
Two practical consequences follow. A family whose relative had convictions should not assume there is nothing to apply for, because a reduced award is a real and frequent outcome. Equally, nobody should be told to expect a full award without the record being discussed first.
Case capsule: Cunningham Cummins v CICT [2024] IEHC 143, Gearty J., 23 February 2024.
Holding: the Court dismissed a challenge by the children of a man shot dead. The Tribunal had refused their applications having regard to his previous convictions and the circumstances of the killing [8].
Why it matters: the conduct examined is the deceased’s, and blameless dependants do not displace the rule.
What that means for a blameless family. The applicants in that case had done nothing wrong, and the Court still upheld the refusal. If the person who died had a significant criminal record, or the death carries the hallmarks of organised crime, this needs to be discussed honestly at the outset. Discovering it afterwards is far worse.
The paragraphs the Tribunal decides under
The Scheme is organised into numbered paragraphs, and the Tribunal files each published decision under the one it turned on [9]. Knowing which paragraph is in play tells a family what the argument is actually about, and it makes the published decisions searchable in a way a general description never can.
| Paragraph | What it governs |
|---|---|
| 1 | Whether the injury was due to a crime of violence |
| 10 (previously 11) | The duty to provide all reasonable assistance to An Garda Síochána and the Tribunal |
| 12 (previously 13) | Provocation, and part-responsibility for what happened |
| 13 (previously 14) | The victim’s conduct, character or way of life |
| 14 (previously 15) | Social welfare and other sick-leave payments |
| 15 (previously 16) | Compensation provided by the offender |
Two of these come up constantly in fatal applications. Paragraph 13 governs the conduct question set out above, and paragraph 14 governs how social welfare and sick-leave payments are treated when the award is calculated [9].
The social-welfare deduction rule is worth understanding before it is feared. In F/53765 the family had received an Exceptional Needs Payment of €1,800, which appears to have been paid directly to the funeral directors, against a receipt for funeral expenses of €8,495 [9].
The Tribunal “presumes that the other compensation, a bereavement grant of €1,500, from the Department of Social Protection was used to offset the expenses claimed”, and on that basis said it would “not engage the provisions of paragraph 15 of the Scheme in this instance, which mandates the reduction of any compensation received by way of social welfare benefits” [9]. Welfare payments do not automatically come off the award.
What if the person who died was a Garda on duty?
A different route applies. Where a member of An Garda Síochána dies from a malicious incident, the family may apply to the Garda Commissioner. That application must be made within six months of the death of the member, under section 10(1)(b) of the Garda Síochána (Compensation) Act 2022 [10]. Section 10(4) gives the Commissioner a discretion to extend that period in specified circumstances.
The Garda Síochána (Compensation) Act 2022 came into effect on 10 April 2023, and it moved these claims out of the High Court. The Injuries Resolution Board (IRB) now assesses them, using the same Personal Injuries Guidelines on compensation amounts as the Courts use [10].
Why this matters. The Guidelines basis is materially different from the Scheme’s vouched-loss basis, and the six-month deadline is different again from the Scheme’s three months. A family in this position should not be working from a general description of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
The Tribunal also administers a separate arrangement for prison officers injured or killed by a violent crime on duty. It has its own application process.
Our guide to Garda Compensation Act claims covers that process in detail.
Which situation is your family in?
Fatal applications are not interchangeable. Four situations come up repeatedly, and each one changes what matters most in the application.
The person who died was supporting the household. Loss of support is then the largest element of the claim, and it is the one most often lost for want of proof. Both refusals in the published decisions turned on missing bank statements and receipts rather than on any dispute about entitlement [9].
What helps: recent payslips or accounts, bank statements showing what came into the house, and a plain list of the outgoings that money covered. See dependency claims for how the same loss is proved on the civil side.
The person who died had previous convictions. Paragraph 13 is live, and the realistic question is not whether an award is possible but whether it will be reduced. The published range runs from a full award through a halved award to a refusal [9].
What helps: getting this on the table at the outset, and being able to show the circumstances of the death rather than leaving the record to speak alone.
Someone other than the attacker may share responsibility. Where the death happened at a venue, at work, or somewhere with a duty to keep people safe, a civil claim may also be open. It is not limited in the way the Scheme is.
What helps: identifying that possibility early, because the two routes have different deadlines and any civil recovery is taken into account by the Tribunal [1]. Our comparison of criminal injuries compensation vs civil claim works this through.
More than three months have already passed. The application becomes discretionary rather than one made as of right, and the two-year outer limit still applies [1]. It is not hopeless: one published decision admitted an application made about 19 months after the death [9].
What helps: a dated, honest account of why the delay happened. Trauma, an unfinished investigation and unfamiliarity with the Scheme have all been accepted as reasons.
Where to get support
Compensation is a small part of what a family bereaved by murder or manslaughter is dealing with, and it is rarely the most urgent part. Two national services exist specifically for people in this position, and neither requires you to have started any application.
Crime Victims Helpline provides a confidential listening and support service for victims of crime, on freephone 116 006 [11].
Advocates for Victims of Homicide (AdVIC) provides support for families and friends of victims of murder or manslaughter, and can be reached on 1800 852 000 [11].
Neither service is connected to the Tribunal, and speaking to them has no effect on an application. Families often find it easier to deal with the paperwork once somebody has helped them get the rest of it into some order.
An inquest, a Garda investigation and a criminal trial may all be running while a family is trying to decide about compensation, and they move on their own timetables. Our guide to inquests explains how that part fits together.
What to gather in the first weeks
Most of what the Tribunal needs is easier to collect now than in six months. We call this the Four-Point Fatal Application Check, and it is the same short list we work through with families at a first meeting.
- Confirm the Garda position. Note the station, the investigating member’s name and any incident reference. The Scheme requires that the crime was reported without delay and that the family co-operates fully [1].
- List every dependant, not just the claimants. Work through the section 47 categories, including cohabitants of three or more years and former spouses, and gather birth certificates [3].
- Keep every receipt and every payslip. Funeral, burial and headstone invoices, the deceased’s recent earnings, and what the household actually relied on each week.
- Check the clock and the second route. Diary the three-month date from the incident, and ask whether anyone other than the attacker may bear legal responsibility for the death.
The fourth point of the Four-Point Fatal Application Check is the one families skip, and it is the one that changes outcomes most. An inquest often runs alongside all of this, and our guide to inquests explains how that process fits in.
Working through the Four-Point Fatal Application Check does not require anything to be perfect at the point of applying. The Tribunal can be given documents as they come to hand, and the priority is to lodge within time. Our guide to applying for criminal injuries compensation covers the application itself step by step.
Three things that decide how a fatal application goes
Reading the Tribunal’s own published decisions alongside the day-to-day of running these applications, the same three factors come up far more than any others. None of them is about the strength of a family’s grief, which is never in doubt.
- Whether the household’s money can be evidenced. In practice this is the difference between a modest award and a substantial one. Loss of support has no statutory ceiling, but it is the head of loss most often refused, and refused for missing paperwork rather than for any dispute about entitlement [9].
- Whether the deceased’s record is dealt with openly. Paragraph 13 accounts for more listings of published fatal decisions than any other paragraph [9]. Families who address it at the outset are in a better position than families whose first sight of it is in a decision letter.
- Whether the three-month clock was respected, or the delay explained. Late applications are admitted, but on stated reasons and dates, not on sympathy alone [9].
None of this predicts an outcome, and no solicitor can. It is simply where the work goes.
Key facts at a glance
Every line below is a single verified statement about the Scheme as it applies to a fatal case, with the source in square brackets. It is the summary we would give a family at a first meeting, and it is deliberately short enough to read on a phone in a hospital corridor.
Two lines are the ones families most often have wrong before they speak to anyone. The mental distress ceiling is for the whole family rather than for each person. The deadline is three months, not the two years that applies to an ordinary claim.
Questions families ask
Can I claim if my family member was killed in an assault in Ireland?
Yes. Dependants of a person who died as a result of a crime of violence in Ireland can apply to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal. The crime must have been reported without delay to An Garda Síochána.
The application is made to the Tribunal, not to a court, and it does not involve suing anybody. It covers financial loss rather than grief, with the exception of the capped mental distress payment. The Scheme exists precisely because most people responsible for violent deaths have nothing to pay with.
Why it matters: families often assume that because nobody was convicted, or because the offender has no money, there is nothing to be done. The State route is separate from both of those things.
Next step: read who can apply, then diary the three-month date.
Who counts as a dependant for a fatal criminal injuries application?
A dependant is defined by section 47 of the Civil Liability Act 1961. It includes a spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, step-parent, child, grandchild, step-child, brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister of the person who died (Civil Liability Act 1961, as revised) [3].
It also includes a cohabiting partner who had lived with the deceased for a continuous period of not less than three years [3]. A former spouse or civil partner whose decree is recognised in the State is covered too. Aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and friends are outside the definition, whatever the closeness of the relationship.
Why it matters: every dependant in the statutory list has to be declared on the application form, not only those who intend to claim [1].
Next step: gather birth certificates and, where relevant, signed waivers.
Is the €35,000 mental distress payment made to each family member?
No. Under section 49 of the Civil Liability Act 1961 the €35,000 is an overall maximum for all dependants combined, not a payment each. The Tribunal decides whether to award it and how to divide it between the family [1].
Section 49(1)(b) of the Civil Liability Act 1961 states that the total of any amounts awarded for mental distress shall not exceed €35,000, and that ceiling was set by S.I. No. 6 of 2014 [4]. The amount is then divided among the persons entitled in such shares as may be determined.
Why it matters: a larger family does not mean a larger fund. It means the same fund divided more ways, which changes what each dependant should realistically expect.
Next step: see how the payment is treated in a civil fatal claim.
How much compensation do families actually receive?
There is no average, and the Scheme publishes none. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal’s published decisions show a realistic range. Two fatal awards totalled €28,312.76 and €28,829.76, each made up of vouched expenses (largely funeral costs) and the mental distress payment [9].
Those totals are the shape of an award where loss of support was not established. Where it is properly evidenced there is no statutory ceiling on that element, so the total is higher. Where the conduct rule applies the total falls, and in one published decision the mental distress payment was halved to €17,500 [9].
Why it matters: the €35,000 figure quoted everywhere is a ceiling on one element only, not an expected total for a family.
Next step: read how the Tribunal has actually decided fatal cases.
Does the Scheme pay funeral costs?
Yes. The costs of funeral and burial expenses are one of the heads of loss the Scheme covers in a fatal case [1]. They need to be vouched with invoices and receipts.
Funeral costs are usually the most straightforward part of a fatal application, because the paperwork exists and the amounts are documented. Keep the undertaker’s invoice, the cemetery or crematorium receipts, and any headstone invoice, even where these arrive months apart.
Why it matters: unvouched expenses are the most common avoidable reduction in a Scheme award.
Next step: start a single folder for every receipt connected with the death.
Do we need a conviction, or the attacker to be caught?
No. A conviction is not a condition of the Scheme. What is required is that the crime was reported without delay to An Garda Síochána and that the family co-operates fully with the investigation [1].
Many families apply while a prosecution is still running, and some apply where nobody has ever been charged. The Tribunal is deciding whether the death resulted from a crime of violence. That is a different question from whether the criminal standard of proof has been met against a named person.
Why it matters: waiting for a trial to conclude can put a family outside the three-month window, and the trial may take years.
Next step: apply now and update the Tribunal as the investigation develops.
How long do we have to apply after a violent death?
Three months. Under the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted an application must be made in writing within three months of the incident. The Tribunal can accept a late application in exceptional circumstances, up to a maximum of two years (Citizens Information, April 2025) [1].
This is not the two-year period that applies to a civil personal injury claim under the Statute of Limitations. The Scheme has its own, much shorter deadline, and the two are frequently confused. Beyond the two-year outer limit, as a general rule no application is accepted — subject to any transitional arrangement in force, and the Scheme as amended on 27 July 2026 provides transitional arrangements for late applications per specified dates.
Why it matters: a family that assumes the ordinary two-year rule applies can lose the Scheme route without ever knowing it existed.
Next step: see time limits for how late applications are handled.
Can an application be refused because of the person’s own criminal record?
Yes. Under paragraph 13 of the Scheme no compensation is payable where the Tribunal is satisfied that conduct, character or way of life make it inappropriate. An award can also be reduced for the same reasons [7].
The High Court confirmed how far this can go in Cunningham Cummins v Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal [2024] IEHC 143. A challenge by the children of a man shot dead was dismissed [8]. The conduct examined is that of the person who died, and the fact that the applicants themselves are blameless does not displace the rule.
Why it matters: this is better addressed candidly at the start than discovered when a refusal arrives.
Next step: read the Tribunal’s published decisions on how the rule has been applied [9].
Is this the same as a wrongful death claim?
No. A civil fatal claim is brought against a person or organisation legally responsible for the death and seeks full damages. The Scheme is a State-funded route that pays vouched financial loss plus the capped mental distress payment.
Both draw the same statutory mental distress payment from the Civil Liability Act 1961, which is why the figure looks familiar on both sides. Everything else differs: who pays, what has to be proved, the deadline, and whether legal costs are recoverable.
Why it matters: where a venue, employer or other body may bear legal responsibility, a civil claim is not limited in the way the Scheme is.
Next step: compare the two on our Scheme vs civil claim page.
Will the Scheme pay our legal costs?
No. The Scheme makes no provision for awarding legal costs, and the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration states that “the Scheme makes no provision for awarding legal costs and consequently the Tribunal has never awarded legal costs to an applicant” [12]. A solicitor is not required in order to apply.
Families still instruct solicitors. That is usually where the conduct rule may arise, where loss of support is substantial and needs proper evidence, or where a civil route may also exist. That is a judgement about value, and it should be made with the costs position stated openly rather than glossed over.
Why it matters: a firm that doesn't tell you this before you instruct isn't being straight with you.
Next step: ask any solicitor to set out costs in writing before you commit.
What to consider next
What happens after we send the form? The Tribunal assesses the application on the documents, and there is an appeal route to a panel of three members if the family is dissatisfied. Our guide to how to apply sets out that process.
What if the death happened years ago? Beyond two years from the incident, as a general rule no application is accepted [1] — but check the transitional arrangements provided by the Scheme as amended on 27 July 2026 [5], and take advice before assuming the route is closed, particularly where the death was before 20 April 2021. Where a civil route exists against a third party, different time limits apply, and that is worth checking separately. The date the two-year period runs from is the incident, not the date of the inquest or the trial.
Important: this information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different and outcomes vary. Consult a qualified solicitor for advice specific to your situation. Gary Matthews Solicitors is regulated by the Law Society of Ireland.
References
- Citizens Information, Compensation for victims of crime (edited 11 April 2025).
- Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Victims Charter: Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal (gov.ie, last updated 29 April 2025).
- Law Reform Commission, Civil Liability Act 1961, section 47, as revised.
- Law Reform Commission, Civil Liability Act 1961, section 49, as revised, incorporating S.I. No. 6 of 2014.
- Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (gov.ie, updated 27 July 2026).
- Law Reform Commission, Compensating Victims of Crime (LRC 130-2026, 23 March 2026), PDF.
- European Commission, European e-Justice Portal: compensation to victims of crime in Ireland (updated 29 July 2024).
- Courts Service of Ireland, Cunningham Cummins and anor v The Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal and ors [2024] IEHC 143 (Gearty J., 23 February 2024).
- Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Decisions by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal (gov.ie).
- Injuries Resolution Board, Making a claim under the Garda Compensation Scheme.
- Citizens Information, Support services for victims of crime.
- Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme: Your questions answered (gov.ie, last updated 3 July 2026).
Gary Matthews Solicitors
Medical negligence solicitors, Dublin
We help people every day of the week (weekends and bank holidays included) that have either been injured or harmed as a result of an accident or have suffered from negligence or malpractice.
Contact us at our Dublin office to get started with your claim today
