Albert Dolan
Question:183. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Defence to provide the Department’s annual expenditure on State Claims Agency costs for the years 2020–2025. [66348/25]
View answerTuesday, 25 November 2025
Questions (183)
Written answers
My Department's Litigation Branch manages and coordinates litigation claims and, in doing so, works closely with the State Claims Agency (SCA).
The Deputy will be aware that all claims for personal injuries taken by current and former members of the Defence Forces have been statutorily delegated to the SCA. The SCA manages and provides legal representation in relation to personal injury cases taken against the Minister for Defence. Legal costs incurred by the SCA arising from the defence of any claims managed by the Agency for my Department are refunded to the Agency by the Department.
In respect of the costs arising from the settlement of cases, my Department is in regular contact with the SCA regarding the active management of litigation cases, with a focus on achieving the most equitable outcomes and the minimisation of costs wherever possible.
Furthermore, a robust internal control framework encompassing segregation of duty, accountability, and reporting elements is well established and operates effectively to ensure all financial affairs are managed appropriately.
In addition, all Defence expenditure is subjected to ongoing audit scrutiny from both the Office of the Comptroller & Auditor General and an Internal Audit Unit operating within the Department.
The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table below. It should be noted that the figures presented below represent total expenditure in each of the relevant years which includes settlement costs, legal costs, agency solicitor fees, agency counsel fees, PIAB assessment fees and any other fees which may arise in the course of defending litigation against the Minister for Defence.
|
Year |
SCA Costs |
|
2020 |
€5,947,092.50 |
|
2021 |
€4,744,635.60 |
|
2022 |
€5,291,521.12 |
|
2023 |
€4,730,387.53 |
|
2024 |
€5,924,628.23 |
|
2025 (to date) |
€6,948,108.58 |