Vol. 477 No. 2
328 Mr. Martin asked the Minister for Defence the progress, if any, which has been made in relation to legal claims made by ex-servicemen who suffered a loss of hearing as a result of being exposed to high noise levels in the form of weapon fire in the course of their service in the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8906/97]
The Chief State Solicitor acts for Government Departments in the conduct of civil legal claims alleging personal injury due to negligence, including claims from former members of the Defence Forces for alleged hearing impairment. As I said recently in the Adjournment Debate of 4 March, the position in the case of loss of hearing claims is that liability is an issue in each claim. It cannot be assumed that a plaintiff's loss of hearing is attributable to his service in the Defence Forces or that the military authorities were negligent in any particular case. Ear defenders have been provided to military personnel for very many years past. The plaintiff may have been exposed to some other source of acoustic trauma, e.g. as a member of a gun club, or there may be medical evidence to suggest some other cause of his deafness, e.g. a previous illness or ear infection. Most of the claims to hand are for hearing in the High Court in due course.
