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Kerry County Council pays out almost €4.5 million in public liability claims in 2023

Jan 22, 2025 08:23 By radiokerrynews
Kerry County Council pays out almost €4.5 million in public liability claims in 2023
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Kerry County Council paid out almost 4-and-a-half million euro (€4,442,710) for public liability claims in 2023.

They were also liable for claims totalling almost one-and-a-half million euro in the first three quarters of 2024.

Council management gave the information in response to a motion by independent councillor Brendan Cronin.

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According to a National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) report, Kerry had the second highest cost of settled claims per person of any local authority in 2023, a 179% increase on its 2022 figure.

Cllr Brendan Cronin had asked for a full breakdown outlining the types of claims and the settlement amounts.

The council’s public liability insurance provider, IPB Insurance, reported 116 public liability claims cost Kerry County Council over 4.4 million euro (€4,442,710) in the entirety of 2023.

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Kerry County Council management said the figure for 2023 reflects one specific exceptional historical settlement.

They told councillors that IPB Insurance had advised them that even with the redaction of names, some claimants could be identified by the nature of the claim and the amount of the settlement, representing a high risk of GDPR breach.

Management said these public liability claims were for incidents such as footpath slips, potholes, and public facilities

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Cllr Brendan Cronin said he hadn’t asked for specifics, and so he didn’t understand how a general overview of these claims would be a GDPR breach.

He said this money is paid by the taxpayer and so the taxpayer should be entitled to know what is used for.

Director of Finance, Angela McAllen said she would make the breakdown by type of claim available to the councillors before the next full council meeting.

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The results for quarter four of 2024 have not yet been published.

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