Hundreds of motorists claim for damage caused to their cars on County Cork roads 

More than 1,600 motorists who had damaged their cars on potholed roads across Co Cork have claimed an average of around €224 each off the local authority’s insurers over the past five years.

Figures released by Cork County Council show that 1,667 claims were made by motorists, resulting in €373,324 worth of payouts between 2021 and last year.

Broken down annually, there were 242 claims made in 2021, with a total payout of €44,363. The following year there were 205, leading to a combined payout of €40,843.

In 2023, the number of individual claims increased dramatically to 515, with the payout soaring to €121,356.

They remained high again the next year, with a total of €103,458 paid out to 360 individual motorists. The number fell to 345 claims in 2025, totalling €63,304.

The cost of tyres is increasing with larger cars on the road, and it is understood that damage to wheel rims, suspensions, etc formed some of the claims.

The information was provided by divisional manager Niall Healy, who was formerly in charge of the council’s roads and transportation directorate, on foot of a query from Labour councillor Cathal Rasmussen.

Robust

Mr Healy said there is a “robust and rigorous” investigation into each claim.

“It should be noted these claims are not paid out directly by Cork County Council, but by our insurers Irish Public Bodies, as they are covered under our public liability insurance policy,” he said.

Mr Rasmussen had asked for a breakdown of the claims in each of the county’s eight municipal districts, but did not receive it.

“It’s hard to know what to say about the figures. In 2024 and 2025 something happened, as there is only 15 claims more in 2024, yet the cost is €40,000 more, so this needs to be explained,” Mr Rasmussen said.

He said he was disappointed that the figures were not broken down by municipal districts, but by simple division it looked as though 43 claims were made per municipal district on average last year “which doesn’t seem very big”.

Gotten nowhere

Mr Rasmussen said he is also planning to ask what the criteria are for making a claim, as he has dealt with people who have gotten nowhere with them.

“My understanding was if a pothole was filled and reopened and a puncture or damage occurred due to this reopening, then a claim may be successful,” he said.

Mr Rasmussen said he intends to put in a follow-up motion asking how much is spent in personnel hours, machinery use, and actual cost of repairing potholes in each municipal district and to ask for more clarity on the overall payouts in the last five years.