Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 7: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of claims for compensation received from the Defence Forces arising from road accidents involving the Defence Forces in each of the past five years; the number of cases settled in respect of each such year; the amount awarded in compensation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38100/10]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The State Claims Agency deals with claims arising from accidents involving Defence Force vehicles in Ireland. The Chief State Solicitor's office deals with claims arising from accidents involving Defence Force vehicles overseas. The information requested is set out in the following table:

The total cost of the claims settled is €2,245,000 for the 93 claims I am dealing with. The State Claims Agency works with the Defence Forces on an ongoing basis to examine incidents in order to identify and, if possible, obviate any potential risk of injury to civilian and Defence Forces personnel. The State Claims Agency advises that the Directorate of Transport and Maintenance has done considerable work in this area.

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. I note a question that his predecessor answered two years ago to the effect that in the preceding five years the amount for claims was €1.1 million. The figure the Minister has given us today is €2.45 million. This indicates there has been an increase in the settlements although, as the Minister rightly points out, some of the claims settled in more recent times were historical claims and we should not read too much into the figures.

I am interested in the co-operation between the State Claims Agency and the Directorate of Transport and Maintenance. Are there any particular trends emerging regarding the nature of accidents? Has it anything to do with the age of the fleet or the quality of the army vehicles? Is there any evidence or information emerging that would pinpoint the areas that give rise to most accidents?

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I do not believe such detail is available. Apart from the age of the vehicles, to which Deputy O'Shea referred, the variables might include the number and length of journeys undertaken, the number of personnel involved and similar issues which may not be easily extrapolated from tables of this nature.

I have some additional information with regard to outstanding cases. I made the point that some 66 cases arose during those years but 93 cases were settled. Clearly, several of the cases settled predated 2006 and that would have led on from year to year. In 2010, a total of seven claims have been made up to this point. It appears that two of these have been settled and five remain unsettled, a relatively high proportion in a short time. In 2009, some 15 of the 18 cases were still not settled.

It seems there is a considerable time lag between the time of an accident and its resolution although I have seen some information which suggests that the involvement of the State Claims Agency has shortened that timescale. There are some long-standing historical cases which have not been progressed. They remain part of the total because they have not been resolved one way or another. As for the kernel of the question, I have not been able to find a pattern that would indicate the causes.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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How many cases are outstanding at this stage? Are any civilians involved in any of the claims? Has the roll-over protection system installed been reviewed or is there any intention to review it? How is it working?

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Several claims have been outstanding for a very long period and are, de facto, dormant, dead or unlikely to be reactivated in some instances. There are a total of 53 including those for 2010. At least 15 of these predate 2006 and one goes back to 1998. These are not active in any sense.

Regarding vehicles, the close interaction between the transport people and the State Claims Agency has undoubtedly led to changes. It is not dissimilar to our discussions previously on the Ombudsman; we learn from what takes place. I am unclear how many civilians were involved and I must get that information for the Deputies but I believe there would be some involvement.

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Go raibh maith agat. On the face of it, with the caveat that one can read too much into figures and that one may not come up with sound conclusions because the figures cover a timespan, we do not seem to have many serious accidents. How many of the claims settled can be described as serious accidents and how many are relatively minor accidents? The safety record of the Army seems to be quite good. Have comparisons been made with other defence forces to shed light on the subject?

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy O'Shea is correct that there is a considerable amount of movement by military vehicles on a daily basis through several parts of the country. There is a major number of opportunities in terms of exposure to the road. I do not have a breakdown in respect of the seriousness of accidents. The number of fatalities is thankfully small, but any fatality is one too many. By serious accidents, I presume Deputy O'Shea means accidents where people have permanent incapacity of a major nature. I do not have the detail on that but I will try to find it for the Deputies. It may be difficult and may take some time but it is interesting information and may feed into what one can learn from this.