State Claims Agency paid out nearly €220 million last year

According to a report from the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the SCA spent €219.9 million on awards and associated claim costs in 2015, compared to €141.4 million in 2014.

In addition, the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) incurred €15.7 million in administrative costs in the performance of its SCA functions - an increase from €13.5 million in 2014.

The report states: “The number of claims under management has increased significantly since 2010, together with an increasing volume of claims received. However, the number of claims resolved has remained fairly static.”

At the end of 2015, the SCA was managing 1,809 mass actions (non-clinical and clinical).

According to the report, “many of these actions involve important legal issues of liability and causation and require a particular legal strategy to be put in place to ensure that the State’s liability is maintained at the lowest achievable level”.

It adds: “The SCA expressed the view that if the State is successful in precedent test cases (and subject to the outcome of any appeal) that many of the mass action cases would fall away and be discontinued.”