Army cases delayed: Pay up to avert further actions

Even at this remove, the Army deafness claims stand as a defining moment: The official ineptitude that led to them and the opportunism that followed said a lot about this society. That fiasco cost €288.7m, of which €100.2m went to the legal professions.

Another scandal rooted in administrative hubris is unfolding. The Government has not resolved dozens of compensation cases based on EU law which says State workers cannot work more than 48 hours a week except in extreme circumstances. The European working time directive rule did not apply to armed forces but German soldiers won a European Court of Justice case and the exemption was ended. The ruling costs Germany €375m a year in extra payments and it was endorsed by a 2010 ECJ ruling which warned that Ireland cannot continue to ignore the ruling.

Delays forced PDForra to take a high court test case last June. The State accepted that time directive rules have been broken, settled for a five-figure sum, paid the €200,000 legal costs and committed to review the situation immediately. However, six months on, no further action has been taken.

Claims around this issue are clearcut and do not involve opportunism. However, official tardiness— it’s eight years since the first ruling — is opening an entirely unattractive prospect of further actions because of unwarranted delays. It’s time to settle before the legal professions smell blood.