The National Treasury Management Agency, established by the Government three years ago to cope with the State's national debt, has taken over responsibility for dealing with personal injury and other claims against the State.
The move was confirmed today by the Minister of Finance Mr Charlie McCreevy with a warning: "The state is no longer going to be the soft touch."
At the launch of the agency's annual report in Dublin, chief executive Mr Michael Somers reported that currently the organisation is dealing a total of 1,850 claims, 260 of which have either been settled in or out of court.
Among claims catered for by the NTMA are those lodged against all state authorities, government ministers, the head of the gardaí, prisons and schools.
As many as 25 per cent of the claims now being processed relate to alleged exposure to asbestos.
The agency also said today that the State's debt-to-Gross National Product ratio was second only to Luxembourg within the 15 European Union states last year.
During 2002, the Government debt-to-Gross Domestic Product ratio fell by 3.8 per cent from 36.8 per cent at the end of the previous year.
Cost of servicing the national debt was 15 per cent lower than initially estimated, coming in at €2,169 million for the year.
PA