Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 31 Jan 1995

Vol. 448 No. 3

Written Answers. - Negligence and Nuisance Claims.

Pat Upton

Question:

149 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Justice, in respect of claims for negligence and nuisance against her Department for each year since 1990, the total number of claims made; the total number of claims settled; the total amount of money paid in settlements; the total amount of money paid in legal costs arising from the settlements; the total number of claims outstanding at present; and the estimated cost of these claims. [2098/95]

Minister for Justice (Mrs. Owen)

The information sought by the Deputy in relation to claims for negligence and nuisance against my Department in so far as it is available, is as follows:

	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Total number of claims made	663	673	646	655	698
Total number of claims settled	152	179	173	207	272
Total amount of money paid in settlements	£679,324	£1,233,164	£1,447,210	£2,912,886	£2,077,324
Total amount of money paid in legal costs arising from the settlements*	£249,573	£302,792	£507,990	£2,144,674	£542,788

* The State's legal costs are paid from the Vote of the Attorney General. The above figures for legal costs are provisional as legal expenses for the claims settled have not yet been fully ascertained in some cases.

There are approximately 1,700 claims outstanding in my Department at present. However, it is not possible to estimate the total cost of these claims at this stage as the majority of the claims are still the subject of legal advice.