State Claims payouts rose 40% since 2015

THE number of payouts by the State Claims Agency has increased by more than 40% over four years, new figures reveal.

Secured by Michael McGrath, Fianna Fáil Finance spokesman, the figures also show that the number of people making claims and the average cost of payouts have also risen sharply.

The State Claims Agency (SCA) is part of the National Treasury Management Agency, which is under the aegis of the Finance Minister.

Set up in response to escalating insurance charges, the SCA’s role is to efficiently manage all claims against the State in matters of personal injury and property damage.

The body also has a responsibility ‘to act fairly and ethically in dealing with people who have suffered injuries and/or damage, and their families, and who take legal actions against the State’.

Responding to Mr McGrath’s queries on the breakdown of payouts by the SCA since 2015, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe revealed that in 2015 the agency paid out almost €165m in damages to aggrieved citizens.

However, by 2018 this had increased to over €245m and the rate of increase shows no sign of slowing down in 2019 either.

Instead, payouts up to November 2019 are at over €249m, already well ahead of those for 2018.

The figures also reveal that over the last five years the agency has paid out over €1bn in total claims.

They also indicate that the increasing willingness of citizens to sue has significantly bumped up the number of awards being made by the agency.

In 2015, just 1,101 awards were settled, but by 2018 this had increased by 43% to 1,574 claims.

The average settlement has also started to escalate, with the cost of a claim rising from €155,833 in 2018 to €192,047 in 2019.

The €36,214 difference represents a steep year on year increase of 23.2%.

The SCA was set up to curb costs, but a concerned Deputy McGrath noted: ‘The sums being paid out by the State Claims Agency are truly extraordinary.’

He said: ‘Over a billion euro has been paid out in awards since 2015 and the total amount paid out has increased by over €84m a year. The figures point to a clear increase in payouts per claim and this is obviously something that needs to be examined.’

Average settlement has started to escalate

‘Over a billion euro has been paid out since 2015’