Deadline for abuse compensation claims tonight
15/12/2005 - 08:03:11The deadline for child abuse victims to make compensation claims to the Residential Institutions Redress Board is due at midnight tonight.
The board was established a number of years ago to decide on the level of compensation due to people who were mistreated as children in industrial schools, reformatories and other state-owned institutions.
More than 12,000 people have lodged claims so far, with more than 4,800 awards being made.
Groups representing child-abuse victims believe many are unaware that the deadline for making applications expires tonight.
They want the expiry date extended by three months so that a high-profile publicity campaign can be carried out.
