Garda compensation up 20% as number of cases tumbles
Official figures show that €7.16m was awarded to gardaí in 120 cases in 2012, compared to €5.97m in 173 cases in 2011.
Separately, there was a 40% drop in the amount paid out in legal costs, from €3.79m in 2011 to €2.26m in 2012. This is in line with a 45% cut in the number of cases, from 215 to 118.
Combining both amounts, the total cost was down from €9.57m in 2011 to €9.42m in 2012. Both years were substantially higher than 2010 (€7.46m).
Information provided by Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan to the Public Accounts Committee show the average award to gardaí has jumped by more than 70%, from €34,500 in 2011 to €59,700 in 2012.
The average legal cost has risen gradually over the last three years, from €14,890 in 2010, to €17,630 in 2011 and to €19,170 in 2012.
However, this masks a more-than-doubling in the highest individual costs: From €120,000 in 2010 to around €270,000 in both 2011 and 2012.
The information, submitted by Chief Supt Orla McPartlin on behalf of the commissioner, said that the judge presiding over the hearing of Garda compensation selected a small number of test cases in 2011.
“The judge had concern at the increase in the number of claims arising out of fear of contracting a blood-borne virus which did not appear to be warranted from the medical evidence in such cases,” she said.
“These test cases required the employment of senior counsel who were required to provide lengthy written submissions on points of law as well as representing the applicants at a trial which lasted a week and involved extensive use of medical expert witnesses.”
Chief Supt McPartlin said legal costs were expected to come down: “It is envisaged that there will be significant cost savings to the State in the form of reduced legal fees and an improvement in the timeline in which claims are dealt with following the transfer of claims under the Garda Compensation Scheme to the State Claims Agency.”
In a separate legal process, total awards of €334,400 were paid out in 2012 in civil actions taken by Garda members, compared to €314,450 in 2011. Legal costs fell, from €238,300 to €201,400. As a result, total costs dropped slightly from €585,000 to €565,400.
