HSE South West paid out more than €34m in claims this year, with over 600 cases still pending

More than €34m in claims was paid out by HSE South West, covering Cork and Kerry, this year, with more than 600 further cases currently open, the minister for health has revealed.

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeil shared information provided by the State Claims Agency (SCA), which has a statutory remit to manage personal injury and third-party property damage claims on behalf of State authorities, including the Health Service Executive (HSE).

The SCA data shows that the total number of active claims for the HSE South West Region in respect of clinical care was 611 as of December 1, 2025.

“The total transactional amount paid during 2025 up to the end of November (including Vat where applicable) for open and closed claims, as well as a small number of incidents and inquests, in the HSE South West Region under the Clinical Indemnity Scheme was €34,393,217,” said Ms Carroll MacNeil.

This amount relates to 386 unique claims.

The information was provided to Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, Thomas Gould, who said that it “points to a clear crisis in our hospitals and healthcare settings”.

“I speak regularly to people who feel let down by their medical treatment. This is largely the fault of overcrowded, under resourced medical settings, and not the staff who are doing their best in the most difficult of circumstances,” said Mr Gould.

“It is very worrying that a further 611 claims are currently active.

“I am calling on the minister for health to undertake a case review and identify any trends or common factors in these claims.

“The vast majority of people only take a claim as a last resort. If gaps could be identified and fixed, the number of these claims could be reduced and this funding could be used to properly resource our hospitals.

“Instead, people are at the end of their tether with a health service that is on its knees.”

The 2025 figure means that nearly €340m has been paid out since 2020, though it also marks a decrease in comparison to recent years.

In 2020, the SCA paid out €54.4m in Cork and Kerry, €106.4m in 2021, €36.1m in 2022, €60.3m in 2023, and €48m in 2024.