The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, sharply criticised the soldiers' representative group PDFORRA, for its stance on Army deafness claims.
He said the organisation apparently "wants to exact the last penny from the taxpayer regardless of whether the injuries are serious or minor and the claims genuine".
He told Opposition defence spokespersons: "There is no argument between me and PDFORRA. The question is how far can I go in representing the interests of the wider community. This gives rise to conflict."
A total of 13,880 claims have been received by the Department of Defence. Some 4,000 are from serving soldiers, 35 per cent of the current Defence Forces strength. Some 11,414 cases are still outstanding.
Of that number 143 have been dealt with through court awards, 2,197 have been concluded in out-of-court settlements and 126 have been withdrawn or dismissed. Almost £51 million has been paid in awards and settlements and £14 million in legal fees.
The Minister, answering questions about his proposal to establish a tribunal to hear claims, acknowledged to Labour's defence spokesman, Mr Jack Wall, that he had not had a formal meeting with PDFORRA since its a.g.m. in Ennis.
He added, however, that PDFORRA representatives yesterday met Department officials and "if they become unstuck I may be requested to intervene". The Minister had also had private meetings with individual PDFORRA members who were "anxious to ensure a non-judicial system is put in place".
He told the Fine Gael defence spokeswoman, Ms Frances Fitz- gerald, that the Chief-of-Staff and RACO, the officers' representative group, welcomed the proposals to establish a tribunal to deal with such claims.
The Minister said that under the proposed tribunal system, a scale of tariffs had been devised, under which "persons with a grave disability should receive compensation which fairly reflects the seriousness of their injury, while those with minor disability should receive payments which reflect the lesser effect of their injuries in their everyday life".