Personal injury awards fall with new guidelines for payments in effect 

Personal injury claim payouts have been falling steadily since the implementation of new guidelines from the Judicial Council in 2021, mandating awards be capped in tiers depending upon the type of injury suffered.

Personal injury compensation awards in Ireland dropped sharply in 2024, as new guidelines for payments came into effect, according to new figures.

The Courts Service reported that last year, personal injury awards were down 45% year-on-year from 2023, with the number of such cases also falling by 41% compared with 2019.

Personal injury claim payouts have been falling steadily since the implementation of new guidelines from the Judicial Council in 2021, mandating awards be capped in tiers depending upon the type of injury suffered, thus removing payments from the remit of a judge’s discretion.

However, insurance premiums, particularly for businesses, have continued to climb, while members of the public continue to persist with efforts to settle claims in the courts as opposed to via the designated portal, the Injuries Resolution Board.

Despite the fall in the number of personal injury cases being taken, Courts Service chief executive Angela Denning said the decline had been offset by the “increased complexity” of the cases now being seen before the courts.

“Years ago, when I was a registrar, cases would resolve quite quickly, a lot more cases were settled, now you're seeing more interim applications before cases are finally dealt with and I think that's putting an administrative burden onto the system,” she said.

The figures are included in the annual report of the Courts Service, launched in Dublin on Monday.

Criminal complaint increases

The report notes while personal injury claims are down, several areas of criminal complaint have increased significantly.

In 2024, public order and assault cases increased by just under 10% year-on-year, with new sexual offences up 13.7%.

Meanwhile, larceny, fraud and robbery cases increased by more than 15% over the 12 months.

However, justice minister Jim O’Callaghan denied the increase in such criminal cases was of specific concern, saying the figures rather indicated the courts were getting busier in terms of those offences.

“It shows that the gardaí are doing an effective job of bringing individuals before the courts, and the courts are determining those cases,” he said.

“So as our population increases, I think it’s inevitably the case that we’re going to see an increase within the courts.” 

Asked if the increases seen in physical and sexual assaults indicate parts of the country were less safe than they used to be, Mr O'Callaghan said “there is a difference between the Courts Service figures and figures for crime”.

He said the Court Service’s statistics were indicative of cases which came before the courts in 2024, which themselves were likely in gestation since a prosecution began, likely at least a year before trial.

“So I don’t think the Courts Service report gives an accurate indication of the current levels of crime,” he said. 

“But what it does show is that the courts are extremely busy, and we need to ensure in Government that we resource the Courts Service and indeed the judiciary to ensure that those cases can be determined.”