The General Indemnity Scheme indemnifies a delegated State authority and anyone working for it such as employees, temporary (seconded) employees, volunteers, contractors, or people on work experience arising from the delegated State authority’s negligence. This indemnity cover does not expire or require renewal. It is also unlimited in amount and has no territorial limits.

View the full list of General Indemnity Scheme State authorities. Find out about claims resolution and enterprise risk management under the General Indemnity Scheme.

The General Indemnity Scheme provides indemnity for personal injuries caused by the negligence of a delegated State authority. This includes personal injuries to anyone working for them, as well as service users, such as patients, students, prisoners, or children, who may be harmed due to a negligent act. It also covers damage to third-party property, like vehicles or buildings. In practice, the General Indemnity Scheme works in a similar way to commercial insurance policies such as employer’s liability, public liability, and third-party fleet or property cover.

The General Indemnity Scheme only indemnifies personal injury and third-party property damage claims. It doesn’t indemnify professional indemnity-related risks, financial losses from cyber incidents, damage or delegated State authority’s property, or travel-related issues such as lost luggage on a business trip. For the Scheme to apply, the claim must involve personal injury or third-party property damage, and there must be negligence on the part of the delegated State authority.

You don’t need to buy employer liability, public liability, motor liability, or third-party property damage insurance as these are already covered. For other types of insurance, government guidelines recommend not buying insurance because it’s more cost-effective for the State to cover these risks itself. However, each delegated State authority should assess its own risks and exposures before making a decision. You can find more details in Section C8 of Procedure and Practices in Government Accounting.

The General Indemnity Scheme Confirmation Statement can be provided as proof of indemnity. This document explains what is indemnified, similar to an insurance policy. The indemnity provided is unlimited in amount, and the statement doesn’t expire or need to be renewed.

Delegated State authorities that are part of the General Indemnity Scheme don’t have traditional insurance policies. Instead, their indemnity is provided by law under the NTMA Amendment Act 2000. The General Indemnity Scheme Confirmation Statement acts as proof of indemnity and includes an “Indemnity to Principal” clause, which should satisfy third-party requirements. Third parties are not named on the General Indemnity Scheme Confirmation Statement.

Yes, indemnity discs are available for vehicles owned by Delegated State Authorities. The disc, called SCA-AF-01: State Indemnity Confirmation, acts as proof of indemnity and replaces a conventional insurance disc. It should be placed in each vehicle and referred to in the event of an accident or if requested by An Garda Síochána. These discs are not issued directly by the State Claims Agency. To get one, please contact your local insurance, risk, or fleet manager. You’ll find detailed guidance on our website about using motor vehicles for work.

No, you don’t need to notify the SCA about routine, local operational changes. However, if there are significant governance level changes within a Delegated State Authority that could have an impact on indemnity, these can be notified by emailing stateclaims@ntma.ie. Examples of changes you should notify us about include: A formal change to the name of the Delegated State Authority; your organisation taking over responsibility for a new agency, service, or entity.

As a Delegated State Authority, your organisation must have an appropriate risk management system in place to manage any risks that may arise.

Yes, the General Indemnity Scheme indemnifies delegated State authorities when they hire or use a third-party venue for events like seminars or workshops. You can provide the General Indemnity Scheme Confirmation Statement as proof of indemnity. It’s important that the venue owner also has its own insurance to indemnify any claims or issues caused by them. For more details, please see our guidance on using third-party premises.

The General Indemnity Scheme indemnifies delegated State authorities when they lease a premises from a third party, and the General Indemnity Scheme Confirmation Statement can be provided as proof of indemnity where requested. The scope of cover is as defined above. The landlord should also have insurance cover in place, and should provide evidence of this to the delegated State authority. We recommend that both parties’ insurance and indemnity arrangements are clearly outlined in a lease agreement.

If the delegated State authority is acting as the landlord and leasing part of its premises to another party, the same principle applies: the delegated State authority is indemnified under the GIS, and the tenant should have insurance. For further guidance, please contact the Enterprise Risk Management team.

Yes, if the Sports and Social Committee is run by and under the control of the delegated State authority, it is indemnified by the General Indemnity Scheme. However, if the committee operates independently (even if only employees are involved), it is not indemnified by the General Indemnity Scheme. In that case, the Committee must arrange its own insurance. For more information, please contact the Enterprise Risk Management Unit.

Yes, provided the class is approved by the delegated State authority and delivered by an employee as part of their role. However, if the class is run privately either by an employee or a third party it is not indemnified by the General Indemnity Scheme. In those cases, the person running the class must have public liability insurance. For more details, please refer to our guidance on the use of contractors. In all cases, accidental injuries arising to participants of activity classes are not indemnified by the General Indemnity Scheme. A formal risk assessment should be carried out, documented and control measures implemented.

Please refer to our guidance on the use of exercise facilities in delegated State authorities. It outlines key indemnity and risk management considerations related to these types of facilities.

You’ll find detailed guidance on our website about using motor vehicles for work. This includes:

• Driving State owned, hire, or private vehicles for official business
• Approval processes for drivers
• Indemnity discs for vehicles
• What to do if there is an incident
• Driving for work assessment checklist
• How indemnity works under the General Indemnity Scheme
• Risk management considerations

If you need more information, feel free to contact the Enterprise Risk Management Unit.

Yes, but they must hold a valid and appropriate licence for the vehicle they’re driving. This includes licences issued outside Ireland. The rules vary depending on the country of issue. Some international licences may need to be exchanged for an Irish licence, while others may require a new application.

Once the correct licence is in place, the General Indemnity Scheme will apply. For specific advice on licences, please contact the Road Safety Authority or visit rsa.ie.

Please refer to our guidance on the use of volunteers by delegated State authorities. It includes full details on what is permitted, including information about volunteers driving vehicles.

Yes, the General Indemnity Scheme applies when a delegated State authority vehicle is driven outside the Republic of Ireland for official business. However, you’ll need to contact the Enterprise Risk Management Unit to request an International Motor Insurance Card (Green Card). This is an internationally recognised document that proves the vehicle has the minimum third-party motor insurance required in the country you're visiting. Since Brexit, a Green Card is required when driving in Northern Ireland or any other part of the UK. The SCA also recommends obtaining one when driving in non-EEA countries on approved State business. The Green Card can be shown to local authorities to confirm legal insurance cover.

State indemnity applies to driving activities that have been formally approved by the delegated State authority and comply with the Road Traffic Act.

• Novice drivers - State indemnity applies; however, novice drivers must follow the rules set out in the Road Traffic Act 2014, including displaying N-plates on the front and rear of the vehicle.
• Learner drivers – Learner drivers present additional risks and must, under the Road Traffic Acts, be accompanied at all times. For this reason, it is not recommended that they drive delegated State authority vehicles. If such situations arise, please contact the Enterprise Risk Management Unit for advice, as each case must be considered individually.

Yes, the General Indemnity Scheme will apply but there are important risk considerations. Before using any donated equipment, it must be inspected, tested, and properly maintained to ensure it’s safe. The delegated State authority should carry out a formal risk assessment to document these checks and outline how the equipment will be used safely. A formal agreement should be put in place between the parties and responsibilities outlined.

Yes, the Enterprise Risk Management Unit can support delegated State authorities with insurance-related advice during procurement. Please refer to the State Indemnity Guidance: Guidance on indemnity and insurance for detailed information, including self-assessment templates to help identify insurance needs and set appropriate limits of indemnity.

When seeking advice, delegated State authorities should complete the Insurance Risk Assessment Template and send a copy to the Enterprise Risk Management Unit.

The following are covered when employed by the HSE, a voluntary hospital or other voluntary health and social care organisations to which the Clinical Indemnity Scheme applies:

• Non-consultant hospital doctors, nurses, midwives and other clinical staff employed by health agencies covered by the Scheme, whether permanent, locum or temporary. Consultants are covered with effect from 1 February 2004 in respect of alleged clinical negligence incidents on or after that date
• The clinical activities of public health doctors, nurses, midwives and other community-based clinical staff
• Dentists providing public practice
• Services provided by other health professionals in the performance of their duties, including pharmacists, paramedics, ambulance personnel, and laboratory technicians

View the full list of Clinical Indemnity Scheme State authorities. Find out about claims resolution and clinical risk management under the Clinical Indemnity Scheme.

The Clinical Indemnity Scheme does not cover private hospitals. The Scheme does cover claims against private healthcare facilities and clinicians that provided facilities and additional professional medical services resources to the public health system in the management of COVID-19 cases and the delivery of acute hospital care more generally during the pandemic.

The State Claims Agency does not provide legal representation at disciplinary proceedings or before professional regulatory bodies. Nor does it provide representation for agencies or individual practitioners at inquiries.

The State Claims Agency provides legal representation at Coroner’s Inquests for agencies and individual practitioners where this is requested.

Yes. The Clinical Indemnity Scheme covers personal injury claims against staff employed by agencies, covered by the Scheme, who provide care or treatment in emergencies within the island of Ireland. Good Samaritan Acts outside the island of Ireland are not covered.

The above cover does not extend to informal non-emergency diagnosis, treatment or prescribing for families, friends, colleagues, or sporting clubs other than in the context of a formal attendance for treatment at an agency covered by the Scheme.

The Clinical Indemnity Scheme covers ethics, drugs and therapeutic committees etc, where there is a risk that decisions taken by such groups, or guidance issued by them, could be considered to have resulted in an injury to a patient.

The Clinical Indemnity Scheme covers claims from patients whose treatment was part of a clinical trial or other approved research project. Detailed guidance is available here.

The Clinical Indemnity Scheme would not cover the provision of medical services by hospitals in Northern Ireland. Further to the provisions of Statutory Instrument (S.I.) 63 of 2003 – National Treasury Management Agency (Delegation of Functions) Order, 2003, the State offers indemnity in respect of the provision of professional medical services within the Republic of Ireland.

The Clinical Indemnity Scheme applies to Good Samaritan Acts within the island of Ireland (to include Northern Ireland) and the transfer of patients to hospitals in other jurisdictions.

In this instance, the benefit of the Clinical Indemnity Scheme would extend beyond the jurisdiction of Ireland, in circumstances where a medical team is accompanying a patient for handover to a hospital outside the jurisdiction of Ireland.

The principle of “enterprise liability” applies – the health and social care service assumes vicarious liability for the acts and omissions of its employees providing professional medical services.

The Clinical Indemnity Scheme will provide cover for the provision of professional medical services by the trainees once they are acting with the authority and consent of the hospital, and once the hospital is covered by the Clinical Indemnity Scheme. The Clinical Indemnity Scheme operates on an "enterprise liability" basis where indemnity is provided for the acts or omissions of the enterprise/hospital/clinic/clinical practitioners, provided the practitioner is acting with the authority and consent of the enterprise/hospital/clinic.

The Clinical Indemnity Scheme provides cover for claims arising from allegations of medical negligence only in relation to the provision of professional medical services. The Clinical Indemnity Scheme would apply to clinical directors if any decisions taken by them or guidance issued by them could be considered to have resulted in a personal injury to a patient.

The Clinical Indemnity Scheme would not otherwise apply to clinical directors’ management, governance or administrative functions. Allegations such as defamation, bullying, harassment, etc, would not be covered by the Clinical Indemnity Scheme.

Providing the visiting consultant is acting with the authority and consent of the hospital, the consultant will be covered under the Clinical Indemnity Scheme while providing professional medical services in the hospital.

Once the dentist is acting with the authority and consent of the HSE, the dentist will be covered under the Clinical Indemnity Scheme for the provision of professional medical services.

This is not the provision of professional medical services and so the member of clinical staff will not be covered under the Clinical Indemnity Scheme for this purpose.

The benefit of clinical indemnity does not extend beyond the shores of Ireland, save where a medical team is accompanying a patient for handover to a hospital outside the jurisdiction of Ireland.