Oonagh McClure

Justice minister Naomi Long has said there are “evidential and practical difficulties” with proposed legislation on mandatory court approval of compensation settlements for children where legal proceedings have not been issued.

Oonagh McClure, a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) in Northern Ireland, told Irish Legal News it was “unacceptable that this important issue has been kicked down the road”.

Sir John Gillen’s 2017 review of civil justice recommended that “serious consideration be given to introducing legislation to make court approval of legal settlements of financial cases involving minors mandatory”.

The report raised “grave concern” over figures revealing that hundreds of claims involving under-18s without legal representation had been settled between 2011 and 2015.

A consultation carried out by the Department of Justice in 2021 found overwhelming support for legislation, and the Department said in February 2022 that Mrs Long “believes that legislative intervention would be appropriate, particularly in light of the consultation responses”.

Mrs Long has said that legislation will not be brought forward before the end of the Assembly mandate in 2027.

She said earlier this month that she had asked Department officials to consider “commissioning further research as well as exploring non-legislative alternatives”.

Ms McClure said: “Any damages paid to an injured child should be protected by the court. A requirement to seek court approval would not be arduous for compensators and it would be straightforward to enforce.

“Requiring court approval for all minor settlements removes the risk of undercompensating injured children, who in some cases need the money to stretch to meet their very specific needs.

“It is unacceptable that this important issue has been kicked down the road.

“As it stands some children may not receive the full and fair compensation they need because their parents decide without issuing proceedings to settle directly with insurers

“There can be a number of reasons for this but sometimes parents regard their child’s compensation as extra money rather than compensation to provide for the injured child.

“Also, parents or guardians may simply not know how to properly invest the compensation to provide for the child’s future needs, and the child will ultimately lose out.

“The compensation of injured child victims of negligence must be properly protected through court approval.”