Councils spend €350k on compo claim detectives

City and county councils have spent hundreds of thousands of euros on private detectives to help counter compensation claims made against them.

Figures show 12 of the country’s 31 local authorities spent €348,757 on private investigators since 2009.

Services include enforcement investigations, illegal occupation issues, and planning matters. However, councils have indicated that significant sums have been paid to investigate compensation claims.

For the years 2009 to 2014 inclusive, Dublin City Council spent €86,896 on private detectives, more than any other council across the country.

The local authority said that €83,289 of this was spent by the council’s law department for “the engagement of private detectives for the investigation of plaintiffs in relation to their alleged injuries and for the service of documents”.

In March, it was revealed that Dublin City Council paid out €8.32m in compensation claims in 2014 alone.

According to figures released to Fianna Fáil Dublin City councillor Jim O’Callaghan, the local authority paid €617,325 in employee claims in 2014.

Limerick City and County Council spent €77,960 between 2009 and 2014 on private investigators. It said that “investigations are carried out randomly to establish the fitness or otherwise of persons who allege they have suffered personal injuries” and that €54,665 of the total spend on detective services went towards such enquiries.

The third highest amount spent by a council in the same period was Fingal County Council, which paid €52,336 to investigators between 2009 and 2014.A spokesperson for the council said that €47,626 of this was towards “claims investigations” for its insurance section.

South Dublin County Council paid €42,694 to private detectives between 2009 and 2014, while Cork City Council spent €38,302 for the same period.

Officials from Cork City Council said €14,249 of this spend went towards investigating “serious anti-social behaviour” and “drug dealing”, while €23,152 was spent “to protect the finances of Cork City Council”.

“They [private detectives] are employed to establish the veracity or otherwise of certain personal injury claims and to assist the council in its defence of spurious, exaggerated or fraudulent claims,” a Cork City Council official said.

Of the 31 local authorities across the State, 18 said that they did not employ private detectives at any point between 2009 and 2014.

Cork County Council was the only local authority to refuse the Irish Examiner’s request made under the Freedom of Information Act.