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Increase of 20% Seen in Value of Compensation Claims Made Against State

Last year has prove another busy and expensive year for the State in relation to personal injury claims, as the overall amount of money paid out in compensation claims against the State rose to €2.2 billion. This represents an increase of nearly 20% in comparison to 2015.

The figures were revealed in a report released by the State Claims Agency at the end of September this year. It provides even more evidence that the cost of the compensation claims taken against the State has continued to increase.

By the end of last year the approximate cost of outstanding compensation actions against the State had grown by €400m to €2.2 billion, an increase of 22 per cent, during the 12 months of 2016.

Notable Figures from SCA’s Report
• 8,900 legal compensation actions were classified as pending against the State at the end of 2016. This figure was just 6,000 in 2011.
• A 24% increase, from the 2015 figures, in legal actions was experienced.
• There were approximately 2,300 legal actions against the State during 2016.

Alongside the above, there were several other reasons for the increase. These include a recent Supreme Court ruling, which stated that compensation sums paid to anyone who successfully sues for damages should be higher as the returns on the cash they are due to receive have fallen. This resulted in increased amounts awarded in compensation.

The State Claims Agency is the body is responsible for managing legal cases brought against the State. The State Claims Agency, established in 2001 handles personal injury, clinical negligence and property damage claims taken against State bodies. It is part of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).

The NTMA is responsible for the National Assets Management Agency (Nama) and New Era, which oversees commercial State companies.

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