Solicitor firms have been paid €9 million in legal costs for representing victims of institutional child abuse in the State's compensation scheme, new figures show.
One firm, Lavelle Coleman, which represented 89 clients last year, was paid just over €1 million in legal costs and a further €261,000 for related High Court costs in 2004, according to the Residential Institutions Redress Board's (RIRB) annual report for 2004.
Costs and expenses paid to applicants' solicitors amount, on average, to almost €11,000 per application. This accounts for 14 per cent of the average award paid to an applicant.
In contrast, the average costs and expenses incurred by the Residential Institutions Redress Board amount to just over €4,000 per application, or 5 per cent of the award. These figures do not include costs paid in respect of High Court proceedings.
The average value of awards paid to victims to date has been €78,000. The largest award so far was €300,000, according to the annual report.
The board also expects the overall cost of the scheme could rise further than expected following an increase in the number of applications.
In its annual report for 2003, the board estimated it would receive between 6,500 and 7,000 applications from former residents of institutions claiming compensation through the scheme.
However, in its latest report the board anticipates it will receive between 7,500 and 8,000 claims when the three-year period for applications expires. This is due to occur on December 15th, 2005.
The board was still receiving an average of 48 applications per week at the end of last year. It has received just over 5,000 applications to date.
This means that, based on an average payout of €78,000 per award, the total cost of the scheme could rise to €625 million. This is much more than was originally estimated by the Government when it signed a €127 million indemnity deal with religious orders.
However, the board says this estimate is "tentative" as there were no precedents for this scheme.
"In particular the extent to which potential applicants have postponed until later, contact with their legal advisers and/or the board is an unknown factor," the annual report says.