Up to 31 March, 2001 a total of 15,640 claims had been received from current and former members of the Defence Forces in respect of loss of hearing allegedly caused during their military service. A total of 256 claims have been the subject of court awards with a further 7,422 being disposed of through out-of-court settlements. A further 375 claims were either withdrawn by plaintiffs or dismissed by the courts. A total of 7,587 claims are still outstanding. The sum of £100.4 million – 127 million – has been paid to date in damages and a further £43.8 million – 55.6 million – has been paid in respect of plaintiffs' legal costs.
Following the judgment in the Hanley case which was delivered by the Supreme Court in December 1999, my Department, in conjunction with the Chief State Solicitor's office and with the co-operation of the Law Society of Ireland, established an early settlement scheme, ESS, which initially operated on a pilot basis. By 31 March 2001, 1,423 claims had been settled under the scheme at an average of £6,500 – 8,250 – per claim. During the same period, the average amount at which claims were disposed of through the court process was £8,200 – 10,041. Significantly, the amount saved in respect of plaintiffs' legal costs is approximately £4,000 – 5,079 – per claim. It is important to stress that these savings in legal costs are in respect of the extra legal and witness costs incurred in bringing a claim to the steps of the court. All claims which have settled under the ESS involve legal representation on behalf of the plaintiffs.
