The parents sued the HSE over the circumstances of the delivery of their daughter in July 2010 at Limerick Regional Maternity Hospital. The baby girl only lived about six hours after she was born. Mr Justice Kevin Cross was told the HSE had expressed regret to the parents and family in a letter. Denis McCullough SC acting for the family said that all the actions brought before then court had been settled* for a total of €98,000.

The court was told that on admission to the hospital the pregnant mother was assessed by a student midwife and the baby was born at 00.26am but died six hours and 13 minutes later. It was claimed that the baby suffered severe blood loss and that this loss was not detected in a timely manner. It was further claimed that the baby was raised above the level of the placenta to untangle her from the umbilical cord, and the blood loss occurred during the clamping of the umbilical cord. The HSE denied the claims. Counsel stated that there was a dispute about who was present at the time of the birth. Counsel for the parents said that the baby was born in good condition and was well but that she later became floppy and collapsed. The court was told that the HSE had sent a letter to the parents which included a form of expression of regret.

Mr Justice Cross approved the settlement* and sympathised with the parents on their loss.

*In contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.

The children’s mother made several complaints about dampness in their apartment to Dublin City Council, who inspected the property and installed dehumidifiers. Their barrister, Conor Kearney, told the court that since the children moved out of the apartment, respiratory problems have improved. Dublin City Council had made settlement* offers of €3,000 for each of the children.

Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke heard the three children attended their GP on various occasions during 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2014 for treatment for respiratory illness. Their mother took the action on behalf of her children and sued the council for negligence and breach of contract. It was alleged the apartment had been unfit for human habitation.

Mr Kearney said that although he found the offers to be low, there may be an issue regarding liability if the cases proceeded to a full hearing. The court heard the damp condition of the apartment may have exacerbated existing respiratory conditions. Judge Groarke approved the settlement* offer.

*In contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.

 Ivan Daly acting on behalf of the hurler told the court that the boy had been playing at Setanta GAA club in Ballymun, Dublin in September 2015, for his school Trinity Comprehensive when one of a number of kegs which had been stacked nearby fell and hit his foot.

Mr Daly said the boy was then taken to Temple Street Children’s University Hospital in Dublin, where X-rays revealed the fracture. Judge Terence O’Sullivan was told that the boy needed a below-knee cast for four weeks following the incident, and that the incident left the boy with a small scar on his foot.

The action was taken by the boy's mother and she sued the trustees and board of management of Trinity Comprehensive Secondary School, and the trustees of the Setanta GAA club, both with an address at Ballymun Road, Dublin, for negligence, claiming that the defendants failed to have proper regard for his safety. Mr Ivan Daly told the court that the defendants had made a €15,000 settlment offer and and the Judge on hearing that the injury had healed, approved the settlement offer.

*In contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.

 

It is the first time the book has been updated in 12 years. The book of Quantum are General guidelines as to the compensation* levels for various types of injuries, depending on their severity. The revised Book of Quantum follows an examination of over 51,000 closed personal injury claims* during 2013 and 2014. According to the news release, the revised guidelines reflect prevailing compensation rates in the market. It is envisaged that the new Book of Quantum will have a stabilising effect on compensation awards across the market. Under the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004, judges "shall, in assessing damages in personal injuries actions, have regard to the book of quantum".

35 categories of injuries have seen a rise in the compensation* amount. There is a 55pc rise in awards for an ankle fracture at €54,700. This is almost €20,000 higher than the last set of guidelines.

*In contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.

 

A fifty-four year old department store supervisor from Walkinstown in Dublin was shopping with her son in 2012 at the Square Shopping Centre in Tallaght. The woman took the lift to the ground floor. Shortly after the lift started it came to a sudden stop. The woman tried to summon assistance by pressing the alarm button, but was unable to reach anybody on the intercom, she banged on the lift doors and called for help. After a few minutes the woman and her son rescued by a shopping centre security guard. Despite the incident lasting less than five minutes, the woman suffered a recurrence of childhood claustrophobia.
Following the incident, the woman was unable to go into rooms without leaving the door open behind her. The woman found that she became anxious unless she was close to the exit of any room she entered. As a result the woman sought professional medical help and was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and depression. She then spoke with a solicitor and subsequently claimed emotional trauma as a result of the incident. The woman sued the shopping centre management and the maintainers of the lift.
The defendant disputed the amount of compensation she was claiming, and the case went to the High Court for an assessment of damages. At the hearing the judge, Mr Justice Anthony Barr, was told that an independent psychiatrist commissioned by the defendants had found no evidence of an anxiety disorder. However, the judge also heard that, since the incident, the woman has been under the care of a psychologist and has responded well to therapy that is expected to last for another eighteen months.
Judge Barr stated he was satisfied that the woman had suffered a psychological injury, and awarded her €25,060 in damages*.

*In contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.

 

The Property Price Register data, which shows the Date of Sale, Price and Address of all residential properties purchased in Ireland since the 1st January 2010, now shows that residential property purchases totalling €10.1 billion took place in 2015. This is an 8% increase on the 2014 figure of €9.3 billion. The total value for 2013 was €6.1 billion.

The data shows strong activity in the residential market outside of Dublin, particularly in Cork, Limerick and Galway. Analysts say that the volume of transaction is restricted due to the lack of home building, with just 12,500 completions expected in 2015. This is far below the estimated 25,000 completions needed a year to meet demand.

 

The Daft.ie report says that asking prices nationally rose by an average of 8.5% in 2015. Asking prices in Dublin in 2015 rose by an average of 2.7% however this is far below the 18% increase in some counties on the southern and western seaboard. This report shows that there may be a two tier property market developing nationally.

The report looked at how this two tier system has developed and it suggested that it may be as a result of the impact of the Central bank lending rules. The lending rules introduced new regulations which apply proportionate limits to mortgage lending by regulated financial services providers in the Irish market. The measures introduce proportionate limits for loan to value and loan to income measurements for both primary dwelling houses and buy to let mortgages as follows:

1.    Primary dwelling house (PDH) mortgages for non-first time buyers are subject to a limit of 80 per cent LTV;

2.    For first time buyers of properties valued up to €220,000, a maximum LTV of 90 per cent will apply. For first time buyers of properties over €220,000 a 90 per cent limit will apply on the first €220,000 value of a property and an 80 per cent limit will apply on any excess value over this amount;

3.    The cumulative monetary value of loans for principal dwelling purposes which breach either of these limits should not exceed 15 per cent of the euro value of all PDH loans on an annual basis;

4.    PDH mortgage loans are subject to a limit of 3.5 times loan to gross income;

5.    Buy to Let (BTL) mortgages are subject to a limit of 70 per cent LTV.

Property prices in Dublin are generally considerably higher than prices in the rest of the country and the requirement to have a 20% deposit for balance property values above €220,000 is an onerous requirement on house buyers.

The report looks at property supply shortages and analyses the stock of houses for sale, which is at a nine year low.

Proposed new legislation currently at Committee stage in the Houses of the Oireachtas will bring about changes to the Local Property Tax (LPT). The new legislation, the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2015, proposes to postpone the next revaluation date for the Local Property Tax from 1st November 2016 to 1st November 2019 and give effect to two particular recommendations in the report on the Review of the Local Property Tax, July 2015 in relation to the implementation of the pyrite exemption from LPT, and reliefs from LPT in respect of properties occupied by persons with disabilities.

Extending the revaluation date will be welcomed by many homeowners as the LPT they currently pay will not change until 2019. The value of property has increased generally throughout the country since the original valuation date of the 1st May 2013. Property prices in Dublin increasing considerably since then and homeowners would have been subject to a large increase in the LPT they pay is the revaluation date was not extended.

It is also proposed that an extension of an exemption from the LPT for the purchase of new houses from builders and property developers is extended for an additional three years from 31 October 2016 to 31 October 2019. This will be welcomed by builders and property developers and is seen as a small incentive for people to buy new homes. This may result in more homes being built but the effect will probably be marginal.

The rules for qualifying for an exemption from LPT for certain properties that have been damaged by pyrite have been relaxed somewhat. The original act, the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, provided for this exemption in respect of properties that had been certified as having significant pyritic damage in accordance with regulations made by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. The exemption is being extended to properties whose owners don’t have the required certification but, nevertheless, have properties that have been proved to have been damaged by pyrite to a significant extent. The exemption is being extended to properties that have been included in the official pyrite remediation scheme without the need for testing, properties that are remediated as a result of a successful insurance claim and properties that are remediated by the builder or property developer who constructed the property.

The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) plans to build commercial property and twenty thousand residential properties over the next 5 years. NAMA hope to deliver 3.8 million square foot of commercial property in Dublin’s docklands.

The NAMA chairman, Frank Daly, said that the proposed building programme will result in higher profit for tax payer. It is estimated that the residential building project will require €5.6 billion in funding with NAMA saying that funds from completed projects will be used to fund new commercially viable projects. NAMA say that their residential programme will focus on starter homes for first time buyers and would also include social housing.

There are circa 1,405 housing units currently under construction under the NAMA plan and they are being built in Dun Laoghaire, Swords, Ballycullen.Kncklyon, Baldoyle/Clongriffen, Stepaside/Foxrock, Pelletstown/Ashtown and Castleknocn/Diswellstown.

It is estimated that the commercial building programme will require €1.9 billion in funding. It is proposed that the commercial programme will be a mix of retail space, restaurant space, hotel space and student accommodation. The commercial building will be focused in the Dublin Docklands which is part of a strategic zone, where fast track planning permission is available.