Gardai who have used firearms have started making claims for hearing damage against the State, following the lead of members of the Defence Forces. Some 35 former and serving members of the Garda have lodged claims with the Department of Justice. They are seeking compensation for hearing damage suffered as a result of firearms use.
The Department is not expecting the number of claimants to rise to levels equivalent to those from the Defence Forces. Nevertheless, at the current average cost to the State of about £34,000 a case in awards and costs, claims by gardai could cost over £50 million.
Mandatory wearing of hearing protection by gardai undergoing firearms training was introduced in 1983, four years earlier than in the Defence Forces.
Firearms training is given only to those members of the Garda who are likely to carry arms in the course of their duties, i.e., detectives. The noise from firearms used by detectives would be less than that from the arms, artillery and explosives which members of the defence forces would use.
"The amount of training and the day-to-day use of firearms by gardai would be an awful lot less than that of soldiers," said a spokesman for the Department of Justice. "It would also be restricted to a much smaller number. The overall situation is being monitored."
An estimate of the number of potential Garda claimants was not available. In the case of the Department of Defence, the number of serving and former personnel exposed to weapons-related noise prior to 1987 is estimated at 50,000. When the FCA is included the figure increases to 150,000.
Some 1,500 of the approximately 10,800 members of the Garda Siochana are detectives. If 1,500 serving or former detectives won awards at current levels, the cost to the State would be over £50 million.
Over 10,000 former or serving members of the Defence Forces are making claims against the State. The potential cost is around £350 million.
However cases are still being lodged with the Department of Defence at a rate of over 100 per week. Between 300 and 400 claims have been lodged by former or serving members of the FCA.
The cost to the Department of Defence this year from hearing loss claims has now been put at £32 million. The original estimate for 1997 was £11 million.
Meanwhile, representatives of the Law Society and the Department of Defence have agreed to establish a joint working group to explore how the costs of the Army deafness compensation cases can be reduced.
At a two-hour meeting in the Chief State Solicitor's Office, the two groups exchanged preliminary views on how the Army cases could be dealt with in a more cost-effective manner.
Mr Ken Murphy, the director general of the Law Society, which represents solicitors, said that they wanted to examine how these cases could be dealt with in the interests of the taxpayer.
"It was a very constructive exchange of views in which much common ground was identified. It was agreed to establish a joint working group to explore further how the costs of these cases may be minimised."
Earlier this month, the Law Society wrote to the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, inviting him to meet solicitors. The solicitors claimed that the State was fighting 95 per cent of cases on the grounds that it was not liable for the damage, yet it was winning only a tiny fraction on this point.