Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal Act, 1997
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Reparation Fund. |
11.—(1) There shall be established on the appointed day a fund to be known as the Reparation Fund (in this Act referred to as “the Fund”) comprising an account, to be funded from moneys provided by the Oireachtas, of such amounts as the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determine to enable payments to be made to claimants in respect of matters referred to in subsection (4). | |
(2) Subject to subsection (3), the moneys in the Fund may be used at any time but shall only be used for the purposes for which they were voted and shall be issued out of that account only by direction of the Minister for Finance. | ||
(3) Any moneys, including interest (if any), in the Fund may be paid into, or disposed of for the benefit of, the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance. | ||
(4) Where a claimant accepts an award from the Tribunal or accepts an offer of a settlement under section 8 , in respect of general or special damages or both, the claimant may apply to have an amount paid to her or him from the Fund in lieu of the Tribunal assessing and awarding aggravated or exemplary damages. | ||
(5) Where a claimant has had an award of aggravated or exemplary damages made to her or him by the Tribunal, she or he shall not be entitled to apply for payment from the Fund. | ||
(6) The amount paid out of the Fund to a claimant shall amount to 20 per cent. of the total amount of the award or settlement referred to in subsection (4). | ||
(7) The Minister shall manage and control the Fund. | ||
(8) The account of the Fund shall— | ||
(a) be prepared in such form, in such manner and at such times as the Minister for Finance may direct, | ||
(b) be an account with the Paymaster General, | ||
(c) be subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister for Finance in consultation with the Minister, may determine, and | ||
(d) be subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. | ||
(9) The Minister shall by order appoint a day to be the appointed day for the purposes of this section. |