Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Is the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, taking the first Topical Issue matter?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I am taking all Topical Issue matters. I should be getting some sort of allowance.

Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this very important matter for discussion. I had hoped the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, would be in attendance as I have been continually stonewalled by her and her Department on this issue. A retired garda attended one of my advice clinics in September and conveyed a concerning situation surrounding a compensation claim which has been sitting in the Department of Justice and Equality for two years awaiting further assessment. I will not go into personal details but this relatively young garda suffered malicious injury in the line of duty. According to a document which he produced, the Garda chief medical officer had passed it on to the Department of Justice and Equality in January 2014. This was confirmed by the Minister in a response to a parliamentary question.

The original application for compensation was made in 2010, which was five years ago. Garda authorities forwarded their report on the claim in January 2014 and it has remained in the Department awaiting further assessment. It was also confirmed by the Minister in her response to my parliamentary question that at the end of October 2015 there were 317 outstanding applications for Garda compensation under assessment by the Department of Justice and Equality. I asked the Minister for further details on the years in which these applications were received and their current stage of assessment. The Minister refused to provide the information, stating "such information could only be obtained by the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of staff time and resources".

I was wholly unsatisfied with the response received from the Minister, which raised more questions than it answered. It seems that the devil lies in the detail here. For this reason, I made further inquiries into the matter via parliamentary questions. I asked the Minister to spell out how many gardaí in Carlow, Kilkenny and the south east are waiting for their claims to be processed. Unfortunately, she refused to provide that information to me once again, citing the lack of computerised records as a reason she could not provide the figures.

This again highlights clearly how the Garda has been starved of vital resources. The lack of computerisation should not be an issue in this day and age. The retired garda who first approached me was a relatively young man.

I am gravely concerned about these gardaí, many of whom I am told are elderly, who are struggling financially while awaiting payment of their compensation claims in respect of which the Department of Justice and Equality is dragging its feet. The least we can do for gardaí injured while on duty is ensure their compensation claims are processed without delay, irrespective of the outcome of the claim. No person, particularly older retired members who have been significantly injured while on duty, should be forced to wait years to have his or her claims reviewed and decided on.

I am calling for a review of the manner in which compensation claims for serving and retired members of An Garda Síochána are processed. This is a serious matter. I understand more than 900 gardaí have lodged claims for compensation, 317 of which have been processed by An Garda Síochána and are now with the Department of Justice and Equality. I would like an explanation from the Minister on the reason this process is so lengthy. As I said many of those awaiting compensation, who have mortgages and are in dire straits financially, were injured while on duty. The Department needs to speed up the process in this regard and ensure these people are given their just rewards.

Will the Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar, relay to the Minister for Justice and Equality the fact I would like these claims brought to a conclusion as quickly as possible?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter which I am taking on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, who is elsewhere on Government business.

Under the Compensation Acts 1941 and 1945, a member of An Garda Síochána maliciously injured on duty can make an application for compensation. It is the responsibility of the Minister for Justice and Equality to approve or refuse such applications, having regard to the circumstances of the case and the legislation. This assessment is discharged by designated officials of the Department and is informed by medical reports and previous court judgments in Garda compensation cases.

Before a decision to approve can be taken and the matter progressed to the High Court, certain conditions must be met. The injury being claimed for must not be minor in nature and confirmation must be received from the Garda Commissioner that the incident occurred on duty and that it was not caused as the result of wilful default or negligence on the Garda member's part. A full report from the Garda chief medical officer is also sought in addition to information from the applicant's legal representatives, often including independent medical assessments. Inevitably, this can be a long process, even in relatively simple cases. Unfortunately, in some cases, this has added to the amount of time spent processing applications before a decision to approve or refuse is made.

As of the end October 2015, the number of applications being assessed in the Department of Justice and Equality, namely, those applications in respect of which the necessary information has been received from the Garda authorities to allow a decision to approve or refuse to be made, was 317. The current total now is 286. The Minister intends that this number will continue to reduce over the coming months and has instructed her officials to take steps to ensure this is the case.

Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for the reply but it is not good enough. According to the Minister, the number of applications currently awaiting assessment in the Department has reduced from 317 to 286. The garda who contacted me lodged his claim five years ago. His claim has been with the Department of Justice and Equality since 2014, which is almost 18 months ago. The Garda authorities report and medical reports in respect of this claim have been made available to the Department, so there is no reason for it to be delayed.

I understand 900 claims have been made, 286 of which are now awaiting assessment in the Department. This means there are approximately 700 claims awaiting processing by the Garda authorities. I am calling on the Minister to speed up this process. As I said, the gardaí involved have mortgages and other loans and some of them are unable to work. They are dependent on their compensation and it is not good enough that they have to wait years for it. In regard to the Minister's statement that the number of cases currently awaiting assessment has reduced to 286, five years is too long to have to wait for payment of compensation. The Minister needs to ensure this process is speeded up so that these gardaí can be provided with their compensation quicker, in particular given all of their medical records have been made available to the Department.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As I said in my opening remarks, the assessment of each application for compensation is dependent on receipt of reports from the Garda authorities, including the Garda chief medical officer, and on receipt of information from the applicant's legal representatives. On average, both of these parts of the process take up more time than the decision-making process undertaken within the Department. Nonetheless, the Minister has assured me that she is very conscious of the current caseload under the Garda Compensation Acts and the pressing need to reduce the number of outstanding cases in her Department.

The Minister has asked her officials to take steps to address this situation as a matter of urgency. It is also the intention to bring transparency to this process through the collation of statistics relating to the compensation process, which will then be published on the Department's website. I cannot comment on any individual case as I do not have access to any individual's information. I acknowledge the Deputy's concern and interest in this matter and while the Dáil may be rising today, I will be seeing the Minister for Justice and Equality over the next few days and I will make her aware that the Deputy raised this issue in the House and ask that she contact the Deputy directly in relation to the matter.