SLAIN SOLDIER'S MOTHER SLAMS NIO
Slain soldier's mother slams NIO
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
Supports Omagh nurses denied compensation
THE mother of the last British soldier to be shot dead by the IRA, has slammed the NIO's Compensation Agency. Rita Restorick, whose 24-year-old son Stephen was shot dead at Bessbrook, said the Compensation Agency is "nothing but a bunch of penpushing civil servants who are only interested in saving money".
Mrs Restorick who lives at Underwood in Nottingham, responded to a story carried in the UlsterHerald last week about two heroic nurses who were refused compensation following the Omagh bomb. The pair rushed to aid those injured in the 1998 blast.
The Compensation Agency ruled that anyone who was not within "a ring'" which it drew round the bomb area, were not entitled to compensation. The nurses had been in their homes but went immediately to the scene and worked for 36 hours straight in the horror aftermath.
Mrs Restorick said she did not find it surprising about the denial of compensation to the two nurses who helped the injured in the Omagh bombing. "The criteria for compensation and the level of payments is a mess".
"I experienced the heartless interpretation of these criteria when I was refused compensation for the depression I suffered following the IRA killing of our son Stephen at an army checkpoint in Bessbrook."
Like the nurses, Mrs Restorick did not meet the criterion of being at the scene of the incident or its immediate aftermath so she was not eligible for compensation.
If Stephen Restorick had been killed in England, she and her husband John would have been entitled to �10,000 compensation. But at the time of his death, albeit this rule has changed now, because he was killed in Northern Ireland, the parents were not entitled to money.
Rita Restorick lost her job because of her depression and it was suggested to her that she submit a claim for mental injury. She told the UlsterHerald that the British army took her case all the way to an Appeal Panel of the Compensation Agency, but without success.
She said what annoys her also is the fact that the families of the 'disappeared' are entitled to compensation.
Five years on since her son's death, Mrs Restorick says she is coping better now. "People trot out the line that it gets easier with time and this is absolutely not true. That loss is always with you, but you learn to live with it."
Mrs Restorick said the Omagh bomb was very traumatic for her as it brought back a lot of memories. One thing which helped Mrs Restorick come to terms with the trauma of losing her son was to write a book in 2000. Called 'Death of a Soldier' it was published by Blackstaff.
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
Supports Omagh nurses denied compensation
THE mother of the last British soldier to be shot dead by the IRA, has slammed the NIO's Compensation Agency. Rita Restorick, whose 24-year-old son Stephen was shot dead at Bessbrook, said the Compensation Agency is "nothing but a bunch of penpushing civil servants who are only interested in saving money".
Mrs Restorick who lives at Underwood in Nottingham, responded to a story carried in the UlsterHerald last week about two heroic nurses who were refused compensation following the Omagh bomb. The pair rushed to aid those injured in the 1998 blast.
The Compensation Agency ruled that anyone who was not within "a ring'" which it drew round the bomb area, were not entitled to compensation. The nurses had been in their homes but went immediately to the scene and worked for 36 hours straight in the horror aftermath.
Mrs Restorick said she did not find it surprising about the denial of compensation to the two nurses who helped the injured in the Omagh bombing. "The criteria for compensation and the level of payments is a mess".
"I experienced the heartless interpretation of these criteria when I was refused compensation for the depression I suffered following the IRA killing of our son Stephen at an army checkpoint in Bessbrook."
Like the nurses, Mrs Restorick did not meet the criterion of being at the scene of the incident or its immediate aftermath so she was not eligible for compensation.
If Stephen Restorick had been killed in England, she and her husband John would have been entitled to �10,000 compensation. But at the time of his death, albeit this rule has changed now, because he was killed in Northern Ireland, the parents were not entitled to money.
Rita Restorick lost her job because of her depression and it was suggested to her that she submit a claim for mental injury. She told the UlsterHerald that the British army took her case all the way to an Appeal Panel of the Compensation Agency, but without success.
She said what annoys her also is the fact that the families of the 'disappeared' are entitled to compensation.
Five years on since her son's death, Mrs Restorick says she is coping better now. "People trot out the line that it gets easier with time and this is absolutely not true. That loss is always with you, but you learn to live with it."
Mrs Restorick said the Omagh bomb was very traumatic for her as it brought back a lot of memories. One thing which helped Mrs Restorick come to terms with the trauma of losing her son was to write a book in 2000. Called 'Death of a Soldier' it was published by Blackstaff.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1024
Published Date: 23-May-02
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