Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 2 March 2023

Public Accounts Committee

2021 Financial Statements of the State Claims Agency: Discussion
Chapter 20: Management of the Clinical Indemnity Scheme of the Report on the Accounts of Public Services 2021

9:30 am

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

On the sheer scale of this, we see clinical cases settled, with news features and people standing outside the court who very often feel tortured by the length of time it has taken to get through the courts system and, indeed, sometimes just to get a mere apology. The human side of it cannot be calculated, but we can calculate some of the costs. We can do an estimate on costs, particularly in regard to clinical cases and catastrophic damages at birth. We are told the total estimate is about €5 billion. There is significant under-reporting or maybe a lack of recognition of damage at birth. If an actuarial assessment were to be done of the actual number as opposed to the reported number of cases, what would be the actuarial assessment of the overall potential liability?

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.