Vol. 564 No. 5
75 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Finance the estimated costs associated with claims being handled by the State Claims Agency in respect of employer and public liability; the proportion of these costs made up by payments to individuals by legal fees and by other costs; and his estimate of the way in which total costs of claims against the State have evolved in the past three years. [9662/03]
The State Claims Agency has been in operation since December 2001. Since its establishment, it has taken over the management of 1,539 employer's liability, EL, and public liability, PL, claims.
Some 66 EL and PL claims have been closed by the State Claims Agency at a cost of €1.14 million. Of this amount, 27% was paid in legal fees and in fees to other experts such as medical and engineering consultants. An additional 66 EL and PL claims have been settled or have been the subject of court awards but final costs figures are not yet available as legal costs in these cases are still under negotiation.
Prior to the establishment of the State Claims Agency, claims were not centrally co-ordinated and, because the agency has been in existence for only a relatively short period of time, it is not yet in a position to identify any trend in terms of the total cost of claims. However, this is something my Department will be monitoring in conjunction with the agency, and I am particularly determined that compensation claims will be vigorously defended and to eliminate any perception that the State might be perceived as a soft touch for such claims.
