ANALYSIS:All claims, no matter how small, go through the High Court, leading to significant costs, writes CARL O'BRIEN
IN ANY given year the State pays out compensation to gardaí for injuries ranging from the relatively minor – such as slipping in a puddle or falling into potholes – to the most serious, such as gunshot or stab wounds.
Gardaí are, of course, entitled to damages for genuine work-related injuries they suffer while in the service of the State.
But increasingly, senior gardaí and Government officials recognise the pressing need to reform the way these claims are handled.
For one, the system is unwieldy and inefficient. Under the Garda Compensation Act, all cases – no matter how small – are routed through the High Court, which means even the most minor cases can quickly accumulate significant legal costs. Over the past year alone, provisional figures show that €7.7 million was paid out in compensation awards, while more than half this figure again – €4.2 million – was paid in legal costs.
It was a similar story the previous year. In 2008 a total of €13.6 million was paid in compensation, while a further €3.8 million was accumulated in legal costs.
By contrast, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal – which deals with applications from people who suffer a personal injury or death as a result of a crime of violence – bypasses the courts and does not require legal representation. In fact, the tribunal does not pay for legal expenses. Injuries to prison officers automatically go through this system.
There is also some unease over categories of claims such as psychological damage being paid out to gardaí. As a High Court judge noted last year, there has been a “huge” increase in the number of claims for post- traumatic stress disorder in relation to exposure to risks such as contracting diseases like hepatitis or HIV.
In most of these cases the court has been told that waiting for test results has, at a minimum, adversely affected their intimate personal relationships and family life.
In test cases to be heard at the High Court over the coming days, the judge will seek to establish the real level of threat to members of the force who injure themselves while coming into contact with people who are infected with blood-borne diseases.
Ms Justice Mary Irvine – who is due to hear the cases this week – told a sitting of the High Court last year that the judicial system needs to be fully informed as to what exactly it is compensating gardaí for.
Gardaí have also received compensation for a wide variety of injuries linked to mental stress aside from the threat of contracting a blood-borne disease.
In recent years a garda was awarded €55,000 after a long-running campaign by an individual who wrote graffiti on walls claiming the officer was a paedophile. A man was later convicted of offences arising out of the claims.
In the 1990s a Garda sergeant was awarded just under £200,000 for “searing psychological effects” after helping uncover corruption among colleagues in Dublin’s Carriage Office.
While the payout was welcomed by representative groups, privately some senior officers at the time reportedly felt the incident was part of a wider trend of gardaí being compensated for simply doing their job.
Overall, the Garda Representative Association says the level of compensation reflects the hazardous job that faces members of the force every day of the week. However, it too says the system needs to reformed and is concerned that significant sums are paid out in legal fees.
It, along with the Government, wants a tribunal which would allow for a speedy resolution to compensation claims instead of the current costly and bureaucratic system. Opposition parties also say the time for reform is long overdue.
Government officials say plans are at an advanced stage. The heads of a Bill have been drafted and it is anticipated that there will be “further developments in the future”.