Vol. 494 No. 3
39 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Defence the Government's approach to dealing with army deafness claims particularly in view of the judgment given in the High Court on 22 July 1998 by Mr. Justice Johnston; the total number of claims settled to date; the total amount paid in compensation; the total number of claims outstanding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17826/98]
57 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Defence the cost to date of the deafness compensation claims submitted by members of the Defence Forces; the legal costs and the administrative cost in this regard; and the awards made. [17889/98]
65 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Defence the position in relation to army deafness claims; the number lodged and the estimated cost of these claims; and his proposals for dealing with same. [17838/98]
73 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Defence the cost to date of the deafness compensation claims submitted by members of the Defence Forces; the legal costs and the administrative cost in this regard; and the awards made. [17890/98]
90 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Defence if he will make a statement regarding the hearing or settlement of outstanding claims against Defence Forces arising from hearing loss. [18086/98]
94 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Defence the cost to date of the deafness compensation claims submitted by members of the Defence Forces; the legal costs and the administrative cost in this regard; and the awards made. [17891/98]
114 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Defence the cost to date of the deafness compensation claims submitted by the Defence Forces; the legal costs and the administrative cost in this regard; and the awards made. [17888/98]
177 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Defence the cost to date of the deafness compensation claims submitted by members of the Defence Forces; the legal costs and the administrative cost in this regard; and the awards made. [18126/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 39, 57, 65, 73, 90, 94, 114 and 177 together.
By 29 September, a total number of 13,538 claims for Army hearing loss compensation had been received. Settlements have been reached in a total of 1,635 cases and court awards following hearing have been made in 123 cases. A further 93 cases were successfully defended or withdrawn.
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.
Cost projects for the likely eventual cost of Army hearing loss litigation have fluctuated up and down over the past number of years, particularly as various "milestones" have been reached. Given the current and potential scale of the problem, allied to the complex legal and medical variants, it is impossible to give an accurate computation of the future cost. What is clear however, regardless of how the problem is approached, is that we are dealing with a cost burden of huge magnitude.
