Outstanding claims against the State worth €5 billion

Outstanding claims against the State worth €5 billion

There are more than 11,000 outstanding claims worth a combined total of €5 billion, according to the latest figures from the State Claims Agency (SCA).

At the end of 2022, there were 7,329 claims being managed under the general indemnity scheme (GIS) and 3,875 under the clinical indemnity scheme (CIS) for a total of 11,204 claims.

The total estimated liability was €1.1 billion under the GIS and €3.86 billion under the CIS, for a total of €4.96 billion — a record high.

The number of active claims in 2022 represented a two per cent decline on the previous year, against a “backdrop of an increasing trend in active claims over the last five years”, SCA director Ciaran Breen said.

In his evidence to the Oireachtas committee of public accounts, Mr Breen said: “The estimated outstanding liability has increased over the same period at a higher rate and there are certain contributing factors to this, including the increase in claims numbers and general claims inflation.

“Other factors are the effect of significant mass actions, the reduction in the real rate of return which affects most clinical claims, and, in relation to catastrophic injuries, increased life expectancy as a result of improved medical and pharmacological care.”

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