Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 10 Nov 1998

Vol. 496 No. 3

Written Answers. - Personal Injuries Claims.

Olivia Mitchell

Ceist:

362 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will introduce legislation to place a time limit on the number of years within which claims for personal injuries can be made against the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22543/98]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

The Statute of Limitations, 1957, already provides a period of three years for the commencement of personal injuries proceedings, whether against the State or a private defendant, beyond which the proceedings may be struck out because they were not commenced in time. The statute also provides that the three-year period shall not be regarded as starting to run where the plaintiff is under a legal disability, for example, not of full age.

The Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act, 1991, amended the law so that the three-year limitation period runs from the date on which the injured person discovers, or could reasonably have discovered, that the injury occurred, if this date is later than the act or omission leading to the injury. I understand that this Act substantially implemented the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission's report on the Statute of Limitations — claims in respect of latent personal injuries, LRC 21-1987, and that it removed constitutional doubts that had emerged regarding the law in this area.

While I have no proposals for change of the specific type outlined in the Deputy's question, the law is kept under review on an ongoing basis.