Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 50: To ask the Minister for Defence the amount paid out to members of the Defence Forces for each of the past five years in respect of compensation claims for injury or illness (details supplied); the amount paid in respect of legal costs associated with these claims in the same period; the steps being taken to reduce the level of such claims; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17610/05]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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Details of the amount paid by my Department in settlement of compensation claims and associated legal costs, excluding hearing loss claims, over the period in question are shown in the table.

The figures are the amounts paid in settlement of actions against the Minister for Defence. They include payments to serving and non-serving members of the Permanent and Reserve Defence Forces in respect of personal injuries and material damage. They also include amounts paid to civilian employees and members of the public.

I am concerned, of course, to ensure that such claims are kept to a minimum and that when they do arise they are dealt with expeditiously and efficiently. It was for this purpose that the Government established the State claims agency which formally took charge of its new responsibilities on 3 December 2001, with the resources necessary to dispose of claims against Departments as cost effectively as possible. To date I have referred 584 cases for the attention of the agency, 257 of which have been settled. Some 433 cases remain to be disposed by my Department including claims predating the State claims agency and in certain categories not encompassed in the agency's brief.

The agency also has a role in the overseeing of risk management. A working committee comprising military personnel, representatives from the State claims agency and Department officials, has been established to examine incidents giving rise to claims and trends emerging in order to identify and obviate, if possible, the underlying causes of injury to civilian and Defence Forces personnel. In addition to this, in 2004, the Defence Forces established a risk management steering group and a risk management implementation group to implement the overall Defence Forces risk management policy.

In the wider area of personal injuries compensation, significant legislative changes have been introduced. The Personal Injuries Assessment Board was established in 2004. The board provides independent assessment of personal injury compensation for victims of workplace, motor and public liability accidents. This assessment is provided without the need for most of the current litigation costs, such as solicitors fees, barristers fees and experts fees, associated with such claims. The Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 provides for procedural changes in actions to recover damages for personal injuries. These include a reduction from three to two years in the Statute of Limitations for such actions. Other provisions of this Act are aimed at streamlining the process, which should also reduce the overall cost of personal injuries claims.