State to initiate action against asbestos claimants this week

The Government will tomorrow take its first steps towards recouping legal costs from hundreds of public sector workers who have sought damages for anxiety over exposure to asbestos.

The move follows a landmark Supreme Court judgment earlier this year which overturned a ruling in favour of a worker who developed an "irrational fear" of getting cancer following exposure to asbestos in Leinster House.

The State Claims Agency, which handles almost all personal injury cases against the State, will tomorrow seek permission from the High Court to recoup legal costs from almost 500 asbestos claimants.

The claimants targeted are public sector employees who have worked in buildings such as Áras an Uachtaráin, the National Gallery, the National Museum and the Department of Health headquarters. They have claimed psychological damage - but no physical harm - over exposure to the potentially cancerous building material. The agency estimates it has been forced to spend an average of €5,000 per case, or €2.3 million in total, on legal costs preparing for these cases.

The adversarial action is aimed at dispelling the perception that the State is a "soft touch" for compensation claims.

The Government earlier feared it was facing another major lawsuit following a series of successful legal cases over exposure to asbestos.

A total State liability of €50 million had originally been suggested, but this will be substantially reduced as a result of the Supreme Court ruling last February.

In the case, the State successfully appealed an award of €61,800 to a worker for exposure to asbestos dust while working in the basement of Leinster House in the late 1980s.

In the decision, the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Keane, said the law should not be extended by the courts to allow plaintiffs to recover damages for psychiatric injury "resulting from an irrational fear of contracting a disease because of their negligent exposure to health risks by their employers, where their risk is characterised by their medical advisers as very remote".

The Government welcomed the ruling and is using the opportunity to take action against other claimants in the hope it will undo some of the damage caused by "copycat" cases, such as the Army deafness claims, which have cost the State almost €350 million.

Work to remove asbestos from all State buildings is continuing. The Office of Public Works began a removal programme in all 6,000 State buildings five years ago and it is expected to conclude next year.