Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 22 Apr 1998

Vol. 489 No. 7

Written Answers. - Hearing Impairment Claims.

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

31 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Defence his views on the maximum exposure of the Exchequer in damages and costs for army deafness cases; and the proposals, if any, he has to minimise the cost of these claims and, in particular, those which are so out of time as to be impossible to disprove. [9258/98]

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

123 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Defence his views on whether it is appropriate that army deafness compensation should be payable in respect of incidents alleged to have occurred 30 or even 40 years ago; and his views on the way in which this aspect of such claims should be dealt with. [9257/98]

Minister for Defence (Mr. M. Smith)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 123 together.

The award of damages for personal injury is a matter for the courts and is based on the evidence presented before them. The Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act, 1991, provides for a time limit of three years within which to initiate proceedings from the date of knowledge of fact, significance and cause of the injury. This legislation has operated very much in favour of Army hearing loss litigants. It would be inappropriate for me to comment further. However, the possibility of disposing of these claims in a context outside the courts is under active consideration. My overriding concern is that any such alternative method of compensation would be fair to both the individual claimant and the taxpayer.

The potential maximum exposure is impossible to predict with great precision. I cannot predict the number of people who will ultimately claim. If 50,000 of the potential 150,000 former service personnel made a claim and were compensated on the basis of the current quantum, the total cost could reach £1.5 billion. However the cost of settling the claims actually on hands is estimated at around £210 million plus £105 million in costs.