Rules and legislation

The Personal Injuries Guidelines set guideline compensation levels for personal injury compensation awards in Ireland. The Guidelines are published and reviewed by the Judicial Council which is a body composed of all judges in Ireland. 

The Personal Injuries Guidelines deal with a wide range of injuries in terms of General Damages, which are the monetary amounts awarded for pain and suffering in relation to a personal injury.   They are used by both the Courts and the Injuries Resolution Board to determine compensation levels.

The Guidelines do not cover Special Damages, which are out of pocket expenses such as medical expenses or compensation for loss of wages, resulting from an injury.

These Guidelines seek to promote a better understanding of the principles governing the assessment and award of damages for personal injuries with a view to achieving greater consistency in awards notwithstanding that cases will invariably have their own unique features.

Click here to find a copy of the Guidelines.

The Guidelines categorise various injuries with compensation ranges applied for each bracket of severity.

The Personal Injuries Guidelines must be used by the Injuries Resolution Board and the Courts in awarding compensation for a personal injury claim.  If the Injuries Resolution Board or the Courts make an award outside of the Guidelines in any case, reasons for departing from the Guidelines must be detailed.

The commencement date for the first edition of the Guidelines was 24^th of April, 2021. These are the current guidelines in place and are applicable to all assessments of compensation that the Injuries Resolution Board makes. A review of the Guidelines took place in March 2024 with the Judicial Council publishing updated draft amendments to the Guidelines in December 2024. These draft amendments are not yet effective.

The draft amendments to the Guidelines are currently going through an approval process, and it is not yet known when the updated Guidelines will come into effect.

You can view a copy of the draft amendments to the Personal Injuries Guidelines on the Judicial Council’s website.

All awards of compensation for personal injuries should have regard to the Guidelines that came into effect on the 24^th April 2021 until any amendments to the Guidelines are formally approved and adopted and become legal.

We will update our website once any changes become effective. If amendments are fully approved and legally come into force, they will come into place for the Injuries Resolution Board for all claims where no assessment of compensation has yet been made.