Court Rules

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1. In this Order:

“the Act” means the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002;

“award” shall be construed in accordance with section 1 of the Act;

“beneficiary” means a person entitled to an award under the Act in respect of whom the Board has given a direction under section 13(8)(a) or section 13(8)(b) of the Act;

“the Board” means the Residential Institutions Redress Board established by section 3 of the Act;

“the Registrar” means one of the officers referred to in sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 6 of the Eighth Schedule to the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961, for the time being designated in writing by the officer for the time being managing the Central Office, with the approval of the President of the High Court, to act as Registrar for the purposes of this Order; and

“the Review Committee” means the Residential Institutions Redress Review Committee established by section 14 of the Act.

2. Applications to the Court under section 13(14) of the Act and section 13(15) of the Act and requests by the Registrar for directions under this Order shall be heard by such Judge or Judges as the President of the High Court shall from time to time assign.

3. An application to the Court by the Board under section 13(14) of the Act in respect of a beneficiary or beneficiaries shall be commenced by the issuing of an originating notice of motion in the Form No 1, Appendix GG, grounded on an affidavit sworn by a person authorised on behalf of the Board.  Where such an application is made in respect of more than one beneficiary, the originating notice of motion shall include a schedule identifying each of the beneficiaries to whom the application relates.

4. The grounding affidavit shall contain sufficient information to enable the Court to decide whether or not to exercise its discretion under section 13(14) of the Act to order that the amount of an award (or part thereof) to which a beneficiary is entitled be paid into the Court in the manner and for the purposes set out in the Act.

5. Without prejudice to the generality of rule 4, the grounding affidavit shall contain (or, where an application is made in respect of more than one beneficiary, there shall be exhibited to the grounding affidavit and verified in the affidavit a report in respect of each beneficiary concerned which shall contain) the following information:

(i) the beneficiary’s name, date of birth, current address and the name and address of his or her legal representative, if any;

(ii) the amount of the award made (including details of any expenses), any payments already made to the beneficiary and the amount of any award remaining;

(iii) in the case of an award to which section 13(8)(b) of the Act applies, the evidence (including in particular medical evidence) based upon which the Board and (where relevant) the Review Committee determined that the beneficiary was incapable of managing any moneys received under an award, and where such evidence includes any written report, correspondence or other documentation, a copy of the same shall be exhibited;

(iv) the Board’s direction under section 13(8) of the Act or the Review Committee’s direction under section 15(12) of the Act;

(v) particulars of any bank account in the name of the beneficiary into which it is proposed that the award, or any part thereof, be paid for the benefit of the beneficiary; and

(vi) particulars of the next of kin of the beneficiary, where known to the Board.

6. An application under section 13(14) of the Act shall, in a case or cases to which paragraph (b) of that sub-section applies, be made on notice to the beneficiary or to each beneficiary to whom the application relates.  Where an application relates to one beneficiary, the Board shall serve on the beneficiary a copy of the originating notice of motion, together with a copy of the grounding affidavit and any exhibits.  Where an application relates to more than one beneficiary, the Board shall serve on each beneficiary a copy of the originating notice of motion, excluding the schedule thereto, together with a copy of the grounding affidavit, the report which relates to that beneficiary and any exhibit which relates to that beneficiary, but no other report or exhibit.  In each case, the beneficiary shall be provided with a form of response to the application in the Form No 2, Appendix GG.  The Board shall serve the documents referred to upon each beneficiary concerned not later than twenty-one days prior to the return date specified in the originating notice of motion.

7. Any beneficiary affected may reply to the Board’s application by completing and sending to the Court not later than seven days prior to the return date the form of response specified in rule 6, and may deliver evidence in response by affidavit or otherwise as the Court may allow.  Where the beneficiary in his response does not agree with all or part of the Board’s application, the Registrar shall provide a copy of the form of response to the Board prior to the return date.

8. The Court may direct the delivery of further evidence on the application as it considers necessary.

9. Where the Court orders under section 13(14) of the Act that the amount of an award or any part thereof be paid into the Court:

(a) the order shall have annexed a lodgment schedule, or lodgment and payment schedule in the form required by Order 77, and

(b) the Board shall notify the beneficiary or beneficiaries concerned of the making of the order.

10.  Where the Court has determined under section 13(14) of the Act that the amount of an award or any part thereof be paid into court, an application by the beneficiary concerned under section 13(15) of the Act to vary the terms upon which the funds are held in, or dealt with by, the Court, or for any payment out from the amount of such award, may be made to the Court, by or on behalf of the beneficiary, immediately following such determination and may be heard by the Court at that time.  Thereafter, any application under section 13(15) of the Act may be initiated by letter to the Registrar or in such other manner as the Court may allow. 11.  On any application made to the Registrar in accordance with rule 10, the Registrar may require the beneficiary concerned to produce any voucher, invoice or other document or information in support of that application.  The Registrar may seek the Court’s directions on such application and may for that purpose cause the matter to be listed before the Court on notice to the beneficiary concerned.

12.^[2] In the case of an award to which section 13(8)(b) of the Act applies, where the Court has ordered under section 13(14) of the Act that the amount of an award to a beneficiary, or any part thereof, be paid into court, the Court may, of its own motion or on the application ex parte of the beneficiary concerned, if satisfied that there is no evidence before the Court as to the capacity of the beneficiary sufficient to justify the commencement of any proceedings under Part 5 of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, order payment to the beneficiary of the whole or any part of the award (or any funds representing such award or any remaining part of it) which has been paid into court in accordance with section 13(14) of the Act.

13.  Where the Court has ordered under section 13(14) of the Act that the amount of an award to a beneficiary, or any part thereof, be paid into court, the Registrar shall send a notification in the Form No 3, Appendix GG to the beneficiary concerned, requesting him or her to provide the Registrar with details of his or her next of kin and to notify the Registrar of any enduring power of attorney, will, codicil or revocation of a will which he has made, or makes in the future.

14.  (1) Where it appears to the Court, on an application made under section 13(14) of the Act, that it is appropriate that a beneficiary be the subject of proceedings to make the beneficiary a ward of court, the Court may, in addition to making an order determining the application, direct the Board or the Registrar to notify the Registrar of Wards of Court of the circumstances of the beneficiary, and to furnish such information to the Registrar of Wards of Court as the Court may direct.

(2) Where a beneficiary is made a ward of court, the Court may direct that any funds lodged in court in accordance with an order made under section 13(14) of the Act be transferred to the credit of the wardship matter.

(3)^[3] Where it appears to the Court, on an application made under section 13(14) of the Act, that it is appropriate that a beneficiary be the subject of proceedings under Part 5 of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, the Court may, in addition to making an order determining the application, direct the Board or the Registrar to notify a person to whom section 36(1) of that Act applies relative to the beneficiary of the circumstances of the beneficiary, and to furnish such information to that person as the Court may direct.

(4)^[4] Where a decision-making representation order is made under section 38 (2)(b) of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 in respect of the beneficiary, the Court may direct that any funds lodged in court in accordance with an order made under section 13(14) of the Act be paid or transferred in accordance with the terms of the decision-making representation order.

15.  Any money lodged in the Court in accordance with an order made under section 13(14) of the Act to which a deceased beneficiary was, at the time of his or her death, entitled, shall:

(i) on an application to the Accountant by the personal representative of the deceased beneficiary’s estate, grounded on an affidavit of such personal representative and on production of the grant of probate or letters of administration (as appropriate), be paid out to the personal representative, or

(ii) where the beneficiary has died intestate with assets not exceeding €10,000 in value, on an application made to the Accountant by a person who would, as next of kin of the deceased beneficiary, be entitled to obtain a grant of administration to the estate of the deceased, grounded on an affidavit of such person, which affidavit shall include an undertaking by such person to the Court to distribute the estate in accordance with law, be paid out to such person.

16.  Where the identity of the personal representative or next of kin of a deceased beneficiary who was, at the time of his or her death, entitled to money lodged in the Court in accordance with an order made under section 13(14) of the Act is not known, the Accountant or Registrar may advertise publicly to ascertain the identity of such person, and any expense incurred in so doing shall be deducted from the money held in the Court for the benefit of the deceased beneficiary.