Vol. 536 No. 2
73 Mr. McDowell asked the Minister for Defence the total number of claims for damages for deafness determined in court or settled out of court at the latest date for which figures are available; the total number of such claims outstanding; the progress being made with the Law Society regarding the pilot scheme to expedite hearings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13792/01]
By 30 April 2001 a total of 15,705 claims had been received by my Department from current and former members of the Defence Forces in respect of loss of hearing allegedly caused during their military service. Of these claims, 255 have been the subject of court awards, 7,862 have been disposed of through out of court settlements, 384 were either withdrawn by plaintiffs or dismissed by the courts and 7,204 are still outstanding.
Following the December 1999 judgment of the Supreme Court in the Hanley Army hearing loss case, my Department, the Chief State Solicitor's office and the Law Society of Ireland established an early settlement scheme – ESS – to deal with the outstanding Army hearing loss litigation claims. The scheme operated successfully on a pilot basis in 2000 and 1,098 claims were settled by direct negotiation between solicitors representing plaintiffs and officials of the Chief State Solicitor's office and my Department.
Given the success of the pilot scheme, my Department expanded the ESS in January 2001. Five firms of liability loss adjusters have been engaged to expand the capacity of the scheme and to augment the resources of the Chief State Solicitor's office in conducting settlement negotiations. The scheme has continued to operate successfully. By 30 April 2001 a further 743 claims had been resolved, while I understand that settlements have been agreed with plaintiffs' solicitors in a further 250 cases. In addition, negotiations are ongoing or due to commence on a further 1,200 claims.
In this regard, it is my Department's policy to resolve the vast majority of outstanding claims under the scheme. Many hundreds of plaintiffs throughout the country have had their claims resolved at fair levels of compensation under the scheme, with significant savings to the Exchequer in court costs. While some claims will continue to be listed for hearing in court, I am hopeful that the early settlement scheme will continue to operate successfully and that the vast majority of the outstanding claims will be resolved in this way.
I ask the Minister to comment on the fact that six years ago, when hearing impairment claims first became an issue, he mentioned an average cost of £35,000. Is the Minister aware that this figure has been reduced to about £7,600 and will he comment on the figure? Given the need to resolve this issue in a satisfactory manner and as quickly as possible, will the Minister com ment on the fact that it seems more and more cases are going to court rather than being settled out of court?
I am acutely aware of what is happening. It was originally estimated that the total cost of hearing impediment claims would be about £1.25 billion, based on the amounts being awarded by the courts or agreed out of court. The figure has now been substantially reduced to an average of £7,600 and the overall cost is now estimated to be between £250 million and £300 million. This represents a substantial decrease on what otherwise would have been an extraordinary burden on the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces. It is not true to say that most cases are going to court, as the figures I have given have demonstrated.
The out of court settlement scheme is working very satisfactorily. Up to 1 April last, 701 cases were dealt with, offers were made in 250 cases and a number of other cases are developing. We hope the bulk of remaining cases will be settled out of court and that fewer will go to court and thereby incur additional costs on the taxpayer.
The Minister has estimated the eventual cost at between £300 million and £350 million.
It will be between £250 and £300 million.
I am sorry. What is the total amount paid to date? What proportion of the amount do legal costs represent? Are legal costs separate from the Minister's ultimate projection?
I will allow a final supplementary question from Deputy Shatter before the Minister answers.
Will the Minister indicate to the House how many more years it will take to dispose of outstanding cases and to bring this episode to a conclusion?
I cannot honestly answer Deputy Shatter's question as the Department of Defence is receiving about 14 claims each week.
New claims?
Yes. The Department cannot be certain when this matter will end. I estimate that it will take about two years to clear the bulk of outstanding cases, looking at the figures with which we are now faced. If the current scheme continues to work and there are no big changes, we are ambitious that the number of cases will be reduced to an insignificant level. Before the agreement on the out of court settlement scheme, legal costs represented 30% of costs. In cases dealing with a quantum of £35,000, one had to add a further £16,000 to include overall legal and court costs.
What are the total legal costs paid to date?
About £130 million has been paid so far, to about half of the total claimants.
How much of that sum was for legal costs?
Approximately £30 million to £35 million of the £130 million went on legal costs.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
