Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2026
501. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the breakdown from the Irish Prison Service of the percentages of prisoner and staff legal claims by sanitisation, trips, slips, falls and sexual assaults, over the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46822/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing the Supreme Court judgment in Simpson v The Governor of Mountjoy Prison & Others [November 2019] a Settlement Scheme was devised by the State Claims Agency [January 2020] with a view to minimising Court involvement in similar claims.
Under the terms of the Settlement Scheme, offers of damages and measured legal costs are made to qualifying claimants. To date a total of 2,817 claims have been received under the Settlement Scheme. Table 1 below sets out the status of the claims received since the Settlement Scheme was established.
Table 1: Status of claims received under the Settlement Scheme
|
Status of Case |
Number of Cases |
|
Claims Under Investigation |
2 |
|
Claims Under Litigation |
134 |
|
Claims Being Concluded |
1 |
|
Claims Being Finalised |
5 |
|
Claims Closed |
2675 |
|
Total |
2817 |
*Correct to 15 June 2026
The State Claims Agency [the National Treasury Management Agency] has delegated authority to manage the majority of personal injury and third-party property damage claims against the State and State authorities.
Table 2 below provides a breakdown of the percentage of claims received by the State Claims Agency [Prisoner/Staff Member] over the past ten years involving slips trips and falls, lack of in-cell sanitation, and sexual assaults. The information contained within Table 2 was extracted from the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The data is correct as of 01/06/2026.
Table 2: IPS claims received by prisoners/staff members in the period 2016-2025
|
Claim type |
Prisoner |
Staff Member |
Grand Total |
|
Lack-of-in cell sanitation |
73.0% |
0% |
63.5% |
|
Slips, Trips, Falls |
6.8% |
26.4% |
9.4% |
|
Sexual Assault |
0.1% |
1.1% |
0.2% |
|
Other* |
20.0% |
72.5% |
26.9% |
|
Grand Total |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
* Other includes all other claims by Staff Members (for example, claims involving violence harassment and aggression, manual/people handling, exposure to biological hazards and crashes/collisions).
In addition to the claims received by the State Claims Agency, the Irish Prison Service received 5 claims involving allegations of sexual assault [3 prisoner claims; 2 staff member claims] over the past ten year period. These claims fall outside the statutory remit of the State Claims Agency as they involve allegations against Prison Officers [as per section 7(1)(b) of the National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2000].
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal administers a scheme of compensation for personal injuries criminally inflicted on Prison Officers.
Since 1990, an occupational Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted on Prison Officers is in place for prison officers who suffer personal injuries due to a violent crime experienced in the course of their duties. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal administers this Scheme as well as the Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted.
The administrative processes underpinning both Schemes is the same and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal makes decisions in relation to both Schemes. Further details of awards made under both Schemes and other statistics are published annually and are available at www.gov.ie/en/criminal-injuries-compensation-scheme/publications/what-the-criminal-injuries-compensation-scheme-is/.
