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12 April 2005

INCREASE IN COMPENSATION PAYMENTS AVAILABLE UNDER THE PNEUMOCONIOSIS SCHEME

The Department for Employment and Learning today announced that compensation payments made under the Pneumoconiosis Scheme will increase by 3.1% from 10 April 2005.

The scheme provides compensation to sufferers (or their dependants) of certain dust-related diseases, who are unable to claim damages from the owners of businesses where the dust exposure occurred, either because the employers have ceased trading, or there is no realistic prospect of obtaining damages from them. The scheme pays a one-off lump sum, dependent on the degree of disability and age.

A spokesperson for the Department said:

"The increase in the rates will ensure that compensation payments continue to keep pace with inflation. A one-off lump sum payment, ranging from £2,248 up to a maximum of £63,808, is now payable, depending on circumstances, to sufferers of certain respiratory industrial diseases caused by dust, or their dependants in cases where the sufferer has died."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

  1. The Pneumoconiosis (Workers’ Compensation) Scheme was set up in Northern Ireland under the Pneumoconiosis, etc., (Workers’ Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1979. Payments under the scheme are administered by the Department for Employment and Learning.
  2. The diseases to which the scheme apply are: pneumoconiosis, byssinosis, diffuse mesothelioma, primary carcinoma of the lung (where accompanied by asbestosis or diffuse pleural thickening) and diffuse pleural thickening.
  3. The rates of payment are reviewed regularly in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) and the regulations amended accordingly. The increase in the levels of compensation under the new regulations is 3.1%, which reflects the increase in RPI from October 2003 to September 2004.
  4. Printed copies of the regulations are available from the Stationery Office, 16 Arthur Street, Belfast, quoting ISBN 0-337-95850-5, priced £3.00.
  5. Media queries to:
    Scott Harbinson
    Press Office
    Department for Employment and Learning.
     
    Tel: 028 9025 7872
    email: scott.harbinson@delni.gov.uk.

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