Footpath fall claims almost equal expenditure on repair

Claims against Dublin's four local authorities for falls on footpaths came to almost €15 million in the five years between 2001 and 2005, according to Fine Gael Dublin spokesman Senator Brian Hayes.

The senator, a South West Dáil candidate, said the "staggering" figure for claims was almost as much as was spent on path repairs in the capital by the county councils. He said the figures showed the four Dublin councils spent €19 million on path repairs while claims against the councils amounted to €15 million.

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

"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 said.

Mr Hayes said in one of the Dublin councils, Dublin City Council, over €1 million more was paid out in claims than was allocated to repair footpaths.

"While it is true that there are always those who maliciously feign injury to wrongly claim compensation, the vast majority of claims against councils are genuine and could have been avoided," he said.

He added that paths were not being upgraded and repaired in a timely fashion due to lack of investment from Fianna Fáil and the PDs.