'Some of these have to be fraudulent,' says TD as claims against Dublin City Council soar
The number of active insurance claims against Dublin City Council has jumped by 820% in the last two-and-a-half years.
If all these claims were awarded, it is estimated it would cost the council €72m to settle.
The figure is at almost 2,000, up from over 200 two years ago.
The Irish Daily Mail reports that the majority of claims are for trips and slips on footpaths.
Twenty-one of them have been valued at at least €150,000.
Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart said it has to be assumed that a number of these claims are fraudulent.
He said this is having a knock-on effect on businesses and communities in Dublin.
He said: "At least a proportion of these have to be fraudulent. They are all genuine claims, that's why we have the system, but it gives some indication as to why insurance premia are so expensive for businesses, They have risen exponentially and also for community groups.
"We are getting to the point where residents' associations won;t be able to organise a bouncy castle in a public estate because of the prohibitive costs of Public Liability insurance."
