Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 19 Oct 1999

Vol. 509 No. 4

Written Answers. - Hearing Impairment Claims.

Ivor Callely

Question:

125 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Defence the number of hearing loss compensation claims to date; the number of cases settled; the total costs involved; the number of outstanding cases; the total paid out for legal costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20342/99]

Frances Fitzgerald

Question:

131 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Defence the number of claims to date for deafness compensation within the Defence Forces; the cost per month in 1999 of meeting these claims; the numbers per month in 1999; the plans, if any, he has for establishing a tribunal; if so, the date for its establishment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20516/99]

Frances Fitzgerald

Question:

154 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Defence the number of claims to date for deafness compensation within the Defence Forces; the cost per month in 1999 of meeting such claims; the numbers per month in 1999; the plans, if any, he has for establishing a tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20556/99]

Frances Fitzgerald

Question:

160 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Defence the legal costs to date of deafness compensation claims taken by members of the Defence Forces. [20598/99]

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

168 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence the number and cost of settlements in respect of Army deafness claims to date, including legal fees; the total number of cases awaiting settlement or litigation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20776/99]

Minister for Defence (Mr. M. Smith)

I propose to take Questions Numbers 125, 131, 154, 160 and 168 together.

By 14 October 1999, my Department had received 14,588 claims for alleged loss of hearing from current or former members of the Defence Forces.

The number of serving members of the Defence Forces who have lodged claims is 4,362. Of these 3,046 remain outstanding while 1,316 have been disposed of. Seventy claims were the subject of court awards while 1,185 were settled out of court. The total cost of awards and settlements of these claims is £28,583,062. An additional £9,453,057 has been paid in respect of plaintiffs' legal costs, giving an overall total of £38,036,119.

Details in respect of expenditure and numbers of claims per month in 1999 are set out in a tabular statement which will be circulated in the Official Report.

Deputies may recall that when I last answered questions on this subject on 30 June 1999, I mentioned that the establishment of a compensation scheme will be influenced by the outcome of the appeal in the case of Hanley v. Minister for Defence. I understand that the Supreme Court may deliver this shortly. When this important judgment is published, the details will be examined carefully in my Department. Its implications for all outstanding claims and for the establishment of a compensation scheme will be assessed and costed.

If the projected cost is acceptable to the Government – and I am hopeful that it will be – I shall establish a scheme designed to remove these claims from the courts. This will provide a level of compensation which will be fair and equitable both to the taxpayer and to those personnel who have suffered hearing loss during military service. It will be administratively straightforward, providing a relatively speedy process of compensating claimants based on the Green Book and the Supreme Court's judgment. The scheme will also be designed to reduce the very high level of costs inherent in resolving these claims through the courts.

I am hopeful that the establishment of a compensation scheme based on an acceptable tariff will attract a consensus of support among all of us who are concerned with resolving this issue and in putting its negative consequences behind us.

The amounts paid out in respect of hearing loss settlements and awards since 1994 to date are: £3.32 million in respect of 207 court awards; £65.85 million in respect of 3,665 out of court settlements and £24.55 million in respect of 3,174 claims where legal costs have been paid to date. The total cost to date is, therefore, close to £93.72 million.

Administrative costs are currently estimated at approximately: £750,000 per year for staff and overheads in the Department of Defence; £850,000 per year for staff and overheads in respect of the Defence Forces and £795,000 per year for staff and overheads in the Chief State Solicitor's Office. A total estimate for administrative costs is, therefore, £2,395,000 per year.

The total number of cases outstanding is 10,496.

1999

Month	Number ofNew ClaimsReceived	Numberof ClaimsSettled	Number ofClaimsAwarded	Total Award and Settlement	Total Paid in Plaintiffs' LegalCosts*(Up to 14/10/99)
January	99	116	3	£1,911,174.39	£907,771.93
February	98	130	11	£2,083,145.50	£942,685.99
March	62	292	5	£3,539,229.35	£1,333,132.23
April	128	247	4	£3,044,644.09	£1,014,563.81
May	76	197	6	£2,829,743.00	£913,334.64
June	119	198	9	£2,203,587.44	£657,953.65
July	33	331	26	£3,706,503.23	£538,692.27
August	130	3	0	£21,523.00	–
September	75	4	0	£15,618.00	–
October		41	0	£393,343.00	–

*Costs may not have been finalised in all cases where settlements or awards have been made.