In response to the Deputy's question, my Department and the bodies under its aegis operate under State Indemnity, a self-insurance model whereby the State bears the financial risk associated with the cost of claims. This approach is set out in the Public Financial Procedures at C8 Section 11 whereby the general rule is that no insurance should be effected against the risk of any loss which if it arose would fall wholly and directly on public funds. This is based on the understanding that the risks for which the Government is liable are innumerable and widely distributed and that losses maturing in any one year are never so large as to materially disturb the financial position of the year, so that it is cheaper in the long term for the Exchequer to "carry its own insurance".
The National Treasury Management Agency is designated as the State Claims Agency (SCA) when performing the claims and risk management functions delegated to it under the National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act, 2000. Since the establishment of the SCA, the management of claims functions has been delegated to the agency and it currently manages claims and risks on behalf of 139 delegated State Authorities, including my Department.
