Garda Compensation Claims

Two groups of individuals are eligible to apply for compensation under the Garda Acts:

• Members of An Garda Síochána who sustained personal injuries (not causing death) maliciously inflicted upon them in performance of their duties or acting in their general capacity as a member when off duty or merely because of their being a member of An Garda Síochána.
• Dependents of deceased members who were fatally injured while on duty or while acting in their general capacity as a member or merely because of their being a member of An Garda Síochána.

Application forms should be submitted to the Department within three months of the date that the incident occurred in accordance with the statutory time limit set out in Section 5 of the Garda (Compensation) Acts 1941/1945.

The time taken to issue a decision on an application depends on a number of factors, including the nature of the injury, the recovery process, the time taken to provide all the relevant medical reports including a final prognosis to the Garda Chief Medical Officer.

Once all the relevant medical reports have been submitted to the Garda authorities, the member is placed on a waiting list to be examined by the Garda Chief Medical Officer. The Garda Chief Medical Officer then provides a report regarding his examination to the Department.

Applications are considered upon the receipt of the Garda Chief Medical Officer’s report and information from the member’s Divisional Office regarding the incident in which the member sustained their injuries. Generally, applications are processed in the order that the reports are received from the Garda authorities and not from the date that the injuries were sustained.

If the Application is granted a Certificate of Authorisation will issue.  This is a document signed by an official on behalf of the Minister authorising the applicant to lodge proceedings with the High Court in respect of the incident which gave rise to a member’s injuries.

The certificate of authorisation and your original application for compensation (which is returned by the Department when a certificate is issued) should be filed with the High Court within two months from the date the application was authorised.

Byrne Carolan Cunningham LLP Solicitors are available for consultations in any of our offices in Athlone, Galway, Dublin, Lanesborough or Moate. Our Litigation Team are highly experienced in pursuing Garda Compensation Claims and can help you lodge an Application for compensation under the Garda Acts.  Strict Time Limits Apply. Please feel free to contact our expert Solicitors for advice.