Evidence about negotiations taking place outside the courts to settle Army deafness actions has been sought by a High Court judge. The evidence will be put before Mr Justice Johnson next month.
Thousands of claims by serving and former members of the Defence Forces are outstanding. The hearing of actions has stood adjourned for several weeks to allow an early settlement scheme to proceed outside the courts. The scheme was established by the State to speed up the cases and save costs.
Mr Justice Johnson granted an application by the State last January to defer the hearings. At the January 24th hearing, the judge said a minimum of 150 cases a week could be disposed of under the scheme.
When the situation came up for review yesterday, barristers representing firms of solicitors acting for plaintiffs argued that the rate of progress was insufficient. They also complained about the type of negotiations. The judge said he wanted to hear evidence from both sides about the nature of the negotiations. He wanted a report on how the settlements were progressing. He was concerned to hear that only 400 cases had been disposed of since the adjournment.