The grim reality of legal costs and the healthcare budget

The Irish Times · Wed Nov · 2026-11-04 06:00 UTC

It is time to redirect the flow of public money away from the Four Courts and back to the clinic

Sir, – Mary Carolan correctly highlights the large sums being paid in legal costs by the State Claims Agency (“The woman facing €50k legal costs over a €16.5k claim: Legal aid row highlights issues in other Irish courts”, October 31st) as being as equally ripe for reform as the criminal legal aid system is.

Legal expenditure on healthcare-related claims, such as the €12 million paid to two solicitor firms in 2025, comes from the overall health budget. To provide context, €12 million in a year would pay for homecare packages for 1,000 older people, or 125 full-time palliative care nurses. As legal fees rise inexorably, less public money goes on addressing patient safety and care.

When healthcare budgets are announced, the public assumes the money goes straight to the frontline. A transparent breakdown of spending would expose a grim reality: millions of euros are being diverted from bedsores to briefs, and from care to the courts.

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