GARDA Commissioner Fachtna Murphy is concerned at the effect that civil claims for damages against gardai could have on the funds available for policing.

Over the past five years, the gardai have paid out a shocking €20m in compensation and a further €12m in legal fees as a result of civil claims taken against them.

Figures provided by the Department of Justice show that the gardai paid compensation to 57 individuals for allegedly assaulting them. The claimants received over €1.5m in compensation but the total cost to the gardai was closer to €4m.

A further €5.7m was paid out to 38 individuals who successfully claimed against An Garda Siochana for unlawful arrest. The rest of the successful claims were for miscellaneous incidents such as alleged malicious prosecution, alleged harassment, judicial reviews and habeas corpus or unlawful detention applications.

Responding to a parliamentary question asked on the subject by Labour TD Brian O'Shea, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said that due to the nature of the work that the gardai were involved in it was 'inevitable' that the state would be liable for damages in a small number of cases.

"Members of An Garda Siochana are called upon to interact with members of the public on a 24-hour basis in a wide variety of situations -- many of which are unavoidably stressful and contentious.

"In the vast majority of cases, these interactions are handled in an exemplary and professional manner and do not give rise to subsequent difficulty from a litigation point of view.

"However, inevitably, there is a small number of cases which give rise to the question of a legal liability on the part of the State."

The minister also revealed that the Garda Commissioner was concerned at the effect that making these payments could have on the funds available to An Garda Siochana in the current economic climate.

He said: "The Commissioner, as accounting officer for An Garda Siochana, is concerned about the impact of the cost of these cases on the funds available to An Garda Siochana. In all cases, the advice of counsel, the chief state solicitor and the Attorney General inform the approach taken in addressing the issues involved.

"In most cases, the advice leads to settlement of the cases but the question cannot be decided on a fiscal basis alone.

"The commissioner must ensure that a proper balance is maintained between the benefits that might accrue for the public purse in the event of prudent settlement agreements and the necessity to vigorously defend the right and duty of the gardai to carry out their functions."

The Garda Press Office refused to elaborate on the commissioner's concern at the impact that these cases could have on An Garda Siochana.

Fine Gael Justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said that there had already been a huge reduction in spending on policing and that it was important that gardai work to keep claims to a minimum.

"The figures for the Department of Justice spending next year will show that there will be a reduction in monies available for full-time policing," he said.

"Already this year, we have seen a cut back in excess of €30m in garda overtime that will manifest itself in fewer gardai on the street and its essential, therefore, that great care is exercised by gardai in the course of their duties in order to minimise the claims.

"I think its important to insure that such claims are kept to an absolute minimum."

Sunday Independent