Numbers suing council to reach nine-year high

THE number of people suing Cork City Council is set to reach a nine-year high with payouts also rising, figures show.

By last November, the cash-strapped local authority had paid out €4.25 million in public liability claims in 2008 — €250,000 more than it had budgeted for.

By the end of December, it had dealt with 182 claims but there are 402 claims outstanding.

If all these cases are dealt with, the total number of cases taken against the council in 2008 will reach 584.

This will be the highest figure since 2000 when 464 cases were dealt with.

The total value of the compensation payouts that year was just €2,049,784.

The surge in claimants and the increase in payouts has led to calls for the council to fight every single case where liability can be contested.

Fine Gael Cllr Jim Corr raised the issue at a council meeting this week.

He said he was concerned about the increase in payouts, particularly at a time when council resources are already overstretched.

“We must fight all public liability claims to ensure that only the genuine ones are paid out,” he said.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Tim Brosnan called for the reintroduction of the system whereby the names and addresses of successful claimants, the reason they claimed and amount of their award was circulated to councillors.

“This list gave councillors an idea of who was claiming and why,” he said.

“This allowed the council to identify areas where we could work on,” he said.

“The downward trend in the number of claimants in recent years is due to the huge investment by the city in its roads and footpaths.”

Mr Brosnan said the list system should be reintroduced and made available to the public: “It’s taxpayers money. It’s no different to publishing councillors’ or TDs’ expenses.”

All cases taken against a local authority must first be dealt with by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB).

Claims only end up in court if the claimant does not agree to the settlement proposed by the PIAB.

Sources said that in recessionary times, an upwards trend in the number of people suing local authorities can be identified.

Compensation paid out

* 2000: 464 claims — €2,049,784

* 2001: 448 claims — €2,050,709

* 2002: 317 claims — €2,425,400

* 2003: 243 claims — €2,110,939

* 2004: 244 claims — €2,138,787

* 2005: 233 claims — €1,636,812

* 2006: 199 claims — €1,233,035

* 2007: 239 claims — €1,742,042

* 2008: 182 claims (402 outstanding).