Vol. 486 No. 2
26 Mr. Farrelly asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of cases currently awaiting adjudication before the hepatitis C compensation tribunal; when extra staff will be appointed to the tribunal to speed up the throughput of cases; his views on whether the current backlog is resulting in unacceptable delays for those seeking to have the issue of their compensation resolved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2165/98]
146 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of cases presently awaiting adjudication before the hepatitis C compensation tribunal; when extra staff will be appointed to the tribunal to speed up the throughput of cases; his views on whether the current backlog is resulting in unacceptable delays for those seeking to have the issue of their compensation resolved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2338/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 26 and 146 together.
The hepatitis C compensation tribunal has received 1,785 claims to date; 598 claims have been determined. Of the remaining cases to be determined, 229 have been allocated hearing dates. A further 347 cases are ready for hearing and most of these will be heard this year. The remaining cases are not ready for hearing as all the necessary documentation has not yet been submitted to the tribunal. The Deputy will be aware that a second division of the tribunal commenced hearings in July last year. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that I will shortly be appointing four additional members to the tribunal which will increase the volume of cases determined by the tribunal and thus reduce the waiting period for hearings.
In addition, pursuant to section 8 of the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal Act, 1997, I made arrangements to provide for the settlement of claims in respect of general and special damages by a claimant. The arrangements will operate as informally as possible and in a manner which ensures that settlement offers are made as early as possible. These arrangements are specifically designed for persons who are seeking to have their compensation claims resolved as quickly as possible.
