31/03/2008

Ireland Claims Reach €500m

The cost of claims against the state by the public has reached €500 million.

The figures released yesterday show the level of claims has meant the government has had to set aside half a billion euro to be able to match the level of claims.

The State Claims Agency (SCA) was set up in 2001 to handle 1,000 claims a year, but the actual level of claims today is closer to 4,000 per year, meaning the claim budget has also quadrupled in this period.

According to the SCA: "Some 61% of claims are from State employees. Of these, a third are by prison officers, another third by civil servants, 22% by members or ex-members of the Defence Forces and 12% by members of the Garda Síochána."

Almost one-third of the claims are from civil servants who allege that they were exposed to asbestos in the course of their employment.

The basis for these claims is the so-called 'worried well' syndrome, where alleged psychological trauma associated with potential rather than actual ill-health.

(DW/JM)

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