Dubliners claim €15m for footpath falls

Dubliners claimed almost €15 million over four years after falling on the capital's footpaths, it was revealed today.

Figures show that €14,981,553 was paid out between 2001 and 2005 for footpath falls across the four local authority areas in Dublin.

The figures were gathered by Fine Gael's Dublin spokesman, Senator Brian Hayes, who blamed a lack of expenditure by the Government for the level of claims.

"Once again, millions have been needlessly wasted due to the failure of Fianna Fáil and the PDs to spend public funds effectively and in a way that benefits the taxpayer," he said.

The figures show that Dublin City Council paid out €8,711,362, Fingal paid out €2,928,191, Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown €1,889,000 and South Dublin €1,453,000.

During the four-year period, €19,214,600 was spent on repairs, according to the figures released by Senator Hayes.

"The underfunding of local government by this Fianna Fáil-led Government often means that paths in need of repair are left in a poor state resulting in falls and other injuries," he added.