Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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81. To ask the Minister for Finance the number and value of claims paid out by the State Claims Agency in each the past five years; the number and value of claims that were settled out of court; the number and value of claims settled as a result of a court decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53740/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the NTMA is designated as the State Claims Agency (SCA) when performing the claims management and risk management functions designated to it under the National Treasury Management Agency Act 1990, as amended.

In answer to the Deputy's question, I refer to material provided by the SCA and which is outlined in the tables. The material provided by the SCA covers the claims during the relevant period, and the report is correct as of 12 December 2017.

This information has been extracted from the National Incident Management System (NIMS). In reviewing the material the Deputy should note that:

- Table 1 shows the overall transactional cost of managing ongoing active claims and finalising claims from 2012 to 2016.

- Table 2 shows claims finalised for all State Authorities under the remit of the State Claims Agency (SCA) from 01/01/2012 to 31/12/2016 under the following case outcomes: Settlement Agreed, Case Discontinued/Claim Statute Barred, Indemnity Received, Outside SCA Remit, Case Dismissed and Court Award

Table 1: Overall transaction payments 2012 - 2016*

Transaction Payments (€'000)

*Transactions payments relate to the ongoing cost of the entire claims portfolio, regardless of the status of the claim. 

Table 2: Claims Finalised and Paid Total 2012 – 2016

Number of Claims FinalisedPaid Total (€’000)

*Please note that in 2013 there was one case that was “Settlement Agreed” after a Court Award appeal

Case Outcome Definitions:

Settlement Agreed:A negotiated settlement has been agreed with the Plaintiff for damages or an Injuries Board award accepted. This category includes some claims that go to court and are either settled on the steps of the court or are settled during the court case but before the case concludes.

Indemnity Received:  The SCA obtained a full indemnity, in respect of the claim, on behalf of the relevant State Authority from the Insurers of a negligent Third Party motorist.

Case Discontinued/Statute Barred:  The claim against the State Authority was discontinued and/or withdrawn by the Plaintiff, or the Statute of Limitations rendered the claim Statute Barred and prevented the claim from proceeding.

Outside SCA Remit:  These claims were not managed by the State Claims Agency.

Case Dismissed:A judge has dismissed a Plaintiff’s claim at the conclusion of the trial.

Court Award:A judge has made an award of damages to the Plaintiff at the conclusion of the trial.

Other Definitions:

National Incident Management System (NIMS)

Incidents (which include claims) are reported using the “National Incident  Management System”. This is hosted by the State Claims Agency (SCA) for the HSE, other Healthcare enterprises and Delegated State Authorities. An incident can be a harmful Incident (Adverse Event), no harm incident, near miss, dangerous occurrence (reportable circumstance) or complaint. An Incident can relate to a person, property, crash/collision, dangerous occurrence or complaint.

Claim

A claim refers to notification of intention to seek compensation for personal injury and/or property damage where it is alleged the State was negligent. The application may be in the form of a letter of claim, an InjuriesBoard.ie application, or a written/oral request.

Paid total

Figures in respect of paid totals relate to the amount of money paid on a claim over its lifetime. This may include payments made in previous years . It includes damages, legal costs and other expert costs.

Claim Finalised

This refers to when a claim and all other matters associated with it have been agreed e.g. costs. There may still be some associated payments and reimbursements outstanding on finalised claims.