Broken footpaths cost over €8m in claims

OVER €8 million was forked out in compensation claims during 2017 as a result of falls on damaged footpaths according to figures revealed recently by Dublin City Council.

In response to a question from Lord Mayor, Cllr Paul McAuliffe, the council’s chief executive said an amount of €8,410,417.89 was paid out in claims and compensation relating to falls and injuries from badly damaged pathways in 2017.

Recently elected Finglas based councillor, Keith Connolly (FF), said the council’s failure to invest in improving paths and pavements was costing Dubliners millions of euros in compansation every year.

“One of the biggest issues raised with me on the doorsteps in the local election campaign was the consistent need for repairs to pathways in estates and on roads,” he continued. 

“It was definitely in the top three issues.

“It’s clear that a failure to invest in improving paths has resulted in large numbers of falls and accidents that ended up costing all of us millions of euro every year.

“The current regime of temporary repairs with tarmac needs to change and the repair process has to be much, much quicker.”

Cllr Connolly estimated that failure to repair footpaths could have cost the city of Dublin nearly €100 million.

“How many paths could have been fixed if this money had been properly invested in our paths and pavements?” he asked.

“These claims are going to drive up the council’s insurance premiums. It’s time to change tack and focus on dealing with the root cause of these claims – badly maintained, broken paths and pavements. It’s the only way.”