Yes, in Ireland a claim can often be settled without a court hearing. The usual routes are negotiation between the two sides, mediation, the Injuries Resolution Board's assessment and mediation services for many personal injury claims, and, where both sides agree to it, arbitration. Mediation is voluntary at all times, and you can walk away from it at any point. Your solicitor must advise you to consider it before issuing court proceedings. Once a case is in court, a judge can invite the parties to try mediation. If a party unreasonably refuses or fails to consider it or attend after that invitation, the court may, where it considers it just, take that into account when it decides who pays the legal costs. In personal injury actions the court can also direct a "mediation conference", and each party must comply with that direction. Signing an agreement to mediate pauses the time limit for bringing a claim, but the time limit keeps running until you sign, so mediation is no reason to delay getting advice.
This guide explains how each option works, what it costs, what happens if it fails, and how the rules differ for personal injury, medical negligence and professional negligence claims.
What counts as "alternative dispute resolution"?
"Alternative dispute resolution" (ADR) covers any way of resolving a claim other than a judge deciding it after a full hearing. The main forms you are likely to meet are:
- Negotiation. The two sides' solicitors exchange letters and offers or hold settlement meetings. The State Claims Agency, which handles claims against the HSE and other State bodies, says it tries to settle claims outside the formal court process where possible, through negotiation in correspondence, meetings between the parties and ADR methods such as mediation where appropriate.
- Mediation. The law defines this as "a confidential, facilitative and voluntary process in which parties to a dispute, with the assistance of a mediator, attempt to reach a mutually acceptable agreement to resolve the dispute".
- Injuries Resolution Board assessment and mediation. Most personal injury claims must go to the Board before court proceedings can be issued. For some types of claim, the Board can now offer mediation as well as assessment.
- A court-directed mediation conference. In a personal injury action the court can direct the parties to meet to discuss and try to settle the case.
- Conciliation or another process approved by the court. The High Court's rules allow the court to invite parties to use "another ADR process", which means conciliation or another process the court approves, but not mediation or arbitration.
- Arbitration. An arbitrator decides the dispute and makes an award that, unless the parties agree otherwise, binds them. The Arbitration Act applies to arbitrations under an arbitration agreement.
How does mediation work?
Before mediation starts, you, the other side and the mediator sign an "agreement to mediate". It must set out how the mediation will be run, how the fees and costs will be paid, where and when it will happen, that it is confidential, each party's right to legal advice, and how the mediation may be ended.
Before starting, the mediator must check for any conflict of interest and must not act if one exists. The mediator must also give you details of their qualifications, training and experience, and a copy of any code of practice they follow. During the mediation the mediator must act impartially and fairly, and must make sure you know you can get independent legal advice before you sign any settlement.
The mediator does not decide your case. The outcome is for the parties to agree, and the mediator may not make proposals to settle unless all the parties ask them to. Even then, it is up to the parties whether to accept. You may bring someone with you to help, including your solicitor, and you may take independent legal advice at any time during the mediation. The mediator and the parties must make every reasonable effort to conclude the mediation quickly and in a way likely to keep costs down.
Mediation can happen before court proceedings are issued or afterwards. The fact that proceedings have been issued does not prevent the parties from mediating at any time before the dispute is resolved.
Do I have to try mediation?
No. The law says participation in mediation "shall be voluntary at all times", and a party may withdraw at any time during the mediation.
What the law does require is that your solicitor raises it with you. Before issuing proceedings for you, a practising solicitor must:
- advise you to consider mediation as a way of trying to resolve the dispute;
- give you information about mediation services, including the names and addresses of people who provide them;
- tell you about the advantages of resolving the dispute without court proceedings, and the benefits of mediation;
- advise you that mediation is voluntary and may not be appropriate where your safety or your children's safety is at risk; and
- tell you about the confidentiality of mediation and how mediated settlements can be enforced.
When the court proceedings are issued, your solicitor must include a statutory declaration (a formal written statement) confirming that they have done these things. If it is missing, the court must adjourn the case to allow the solicitor to comply. In the High Court the declaration is filed in the Central Office and a copy is served on the defendant.
Can the court push us towards mediation or settlement?
A court cannot make you settle: the outcome of a mediation is for the parties to decide. The court does have several powers to encourage settlement, and some of them carry consequences for costs.
An invitation to mediate. A court may invite the parties to consider mediation, and give them information about its benefits. It can do this on its own initiative or when one of the parties applies. A party who wants to make that application must do so by motion on notice to the other parties "not later than 14 days before the date on which the proceedings are first listed for hearing". In the High Court the judge can issue the invitation of their own motion whenever the case is before the court. If the parties decide to mediate, the court may adjourn the case, extend time limits for steps in the case, or give other directions to help the mediation work. In the High Court, unless the court orders otherwise, time for taking steps in the case does not run during an adjournment to allow mediation.
Costs if you refuse. When deciding costs in a case where it issued an invitation, the court may, where it considers it just, have regard to any unreasonable refusal or failure by a party to consider using mediation, or to attend mediation, following the invitation. The general costs rule points the same way. A party who is entirely successful is entitled to their costs against the unsuccessful party unless the court orders otherwise. In deciding that, the court can look at whether the parties were invited to settle (by mediation or otherwise) and whether a party was unreasonable in refusing to engage in settlement discussions or mediation.
A mediation conference in a personal injury action. At any time before the trial of a personal injuries action, the court may direct that the parties meet to discuss and try to settle the case. It can do this at a party's request or on its own initiative, if it considers a meeting would help reach a settlement. Each party must comply with that direction. The conference is chaired by someone the parties agree on or, failing agreement, someone the court appoints. Afterwards, the chairperson reports to the court on whether the conference took place and whether the case settled. At the end of the case, if the court is satisfied that a party failed to comply with the direction, it may order that party to pay all or part of the costs of the action incurred after the direction was given.
Formal offers. In personal injury actions, both sides must serve written formal offers of settlement (or, in the defendant's case, a statement that they will not pay anything) after a date set by ministerial order before the trial. When deciding costs, the court must have regard to the terms of the offers and how reasonably the parties behaved in making them. The judge is not told the terms until after delivering judgment.
Other ADR processes. The High Court can adjourn a case and invite the parties to use conciliation or another approved process, or refer the case to it if the parties consent. Unless the court allows it for a special reason, a party's application for this must be made at least 28 days before the case is first listed for hearing.
Is what I say in mediation confidential?
Generally, yes. All communications (including things said out loud) and all records and notes relating to a mediation are confidential and must not be disclosed in court proceedings or otherwise. There are exceptions where disclosure is needed to implement or enforce a mediation settlement, to prevent physical or psychological injury to a party, where the law requires it, to prevent or reveal a crime or a threat to a party, or in a claim or complaint about the mediator's own negligence or misconduct.
One point is easy to miss. Evidence that could be used or would have to be disclosed in court anyway does not become protected just because it was introduced or used in the mediation. Bringing a medical record or report to a mediation does not shield it from the court process.
Similar confidentiality rules apply to mediation at the Injuries Resolution Board. They also apply to court-directed mediation conferences in personal injury actions: the chairperson's notes and all communications during the conference are confidential and cannot be used in evidence in any civil or criminal proceedings.
Is a mediated agreement binding?
The parties decide whether they have reached a settlement and whether it is to be enforceable between them. A "mediation settlement" is an agreement in writing reached during the mediation and signed by the parties and the mediator. It has effect as a contract between the parties, unless it expressly says it has no legal force until it is put into a formal legal agreement signed by the parties.
A court may enforce a mediation settlement on the application of a party. It will not do so if it is satisfied that the settlement does not adequately protect the rights and entitlements of the parties and their dependants, is not based on full and mutual disclosure of assets, is otherwise contrary to public policy, or that a party was overborne or unduly influenced by another party. If proceedings are already before the High Court and all the parties agree at mediation on the terms of an order, the court may make that order.
Because a signed settlement can bind you, talk to your solicitor before you sign anything. The mediator must make sure you know you have that right.
Who pays for mediation?
Unless a court orders otherwise or the parties agree otherwise, the parties pay the mediator the fees and costs set out in the agreement to mediate, or share the fees and costs equally. Fees and costs must be reasonable and proportionate to the importance and complexity of the issues and the work the mediator does. The mediator's fees cannot depend on the outcome. If the mediator withdraws, they must return the fees paid for time they will no longer be acting.
For a court-directed mediation conference in a personal injury action, the costs are paid by whichever party the court directs. Because the parties can agree how fees are paid, ask your solicitor what is proposed in your case before you sign the agreement to mediate.
Does mediation stop the clock on my time limit?
This is the deadline most likely to catch people out.
For most personal injury claims, including medical negligence claims for personal injury, court proceedings cannot be brought more than 2 years after the date the cause of action accrued or, if later, your "date of knowledge". Your date of knowledge is broadly when you first knew (or could reasonably have found out) that you were injured, that the injury was significant, that it was caused by the act or omission complained of, and who was responsible. For actions founded on tort (civil wrongs, which include negligence) that are not personal injury claims, the general rule is 6 years from the date the cause of action accrued. Working out when a claim "accrued" can be complicated, so ask your solicitor to confirm the date for your claim.
Under the Mediation Act, the period from the day the agreement to mediate is signed until 30 days after a mediation settlement is signed or the mediation ends (whichever comes first) is disregarded when the limitation period is counted. The mediator must tell the parties in writing the date on which the mediation ends. This protection starts when the agreement to mediate is signed. Before that, the clock keeps running while the sides talk.
Worked example (made-up dates). Suppose an agreement to mediate is signed on Tuesday 2 February 2027, and the mediation ends without agreement on Tuesday 16 February 2027. The disregarded period ends 30 days after the mediation ends, on Thursday 18 March 2027. Counting both ends, that is 45 days, from 2 February to 18 March 2027 inclusive, that do not count towards the limitation period. Your solicitor should still work out the exact last day for issuing proceedings in your case and not rely on a rough count.
Personal injury claims that go through the Injuries Resolution Board have their own rule. The time from your application to the Board until 6 months after the Board issues an "authorisation" (its permission to go to court) is disregarded for the respondents named in your application. This pause only applies to an application the claimant has signed that confirms the details the Act lists. These include your name, date of birth, phone number and home address, your PPS number (or other proof of identity), the name and address of each person you say is liable, the date, time, place and description of the accident, a description of your injuries, and that the enclosed medical report describes those injuries. An incomplete application may not stop the clock, so make sure it is complete when it is sent.
There is also an earlier step for personal injury actions. If a plaintiff, without reasonable cause, fails to send the wrongdoer a written notice stating the nature of the wrong within one month of the date of the cause of action, the court hearing the case must draw such inferences as appear proper. Where the interests of justice require it, the court must also make no order for costs in the plaintiff's favour or reduce those costs. Contact a solicitor early so this letter is sent in time.
Personal injury claims: the Injuries Resolution Board
Most personal injury claims against an employer, against someone arising from their driving or use of a vehicle, against someone arising from their use or occupation of land or a building, and many other personal injury claims, come under the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003. The body is now called the Personal Injuries Resolution Board. For these claims, no court proceedings can be brought unless you have first applied to the Board and the Board has authorised proceedings.
Mediation at the Board. The Board's mediation rules are in force for workplace injury claims, claims arising from the use or occupation of land or buildings, and motor claims. They are not yet in force for claims against the Garda Commissioner or for the category of "other" personal injury claims. Where the rules apply:
- The Board may invite the parties to consider mediation and give them information about it. If each party consents, the Board must arrange the mediation.
- The mediator may be a Board employee or a person appointed by the Board. The mediator inquires into the claim, exchanges information with each party and can make suggestions to each party with a view to reaching agreement.
- Participation is voluntary. You can withdraw at any time before the mediation is completed, and you can bring someone to help you, including a legal adviser.
- Even after signing an agreement, each party may, not later than 10 days from the date the mediation is completed, notify the mediator and the Board in writing that they no longer accept it and do not wish to be bound by it.
- If nobody withdraws within those 10 days and the agreement resolves the claim, the Board issues an "order to pay" for the agreed amount.
- If mediation fails, or a party backs out within the 10 days, the claim goes to assessment by the Board, as long as the respondent has consented to assessment and an assessment has not already been completed.
Worked example (made-up dates). The 10 days run from the date the mediation is completed, not from when the last party signs. If the mediation is completed on Wednesday 5 May 2027, the last day is Saturday 15 May 2027 if the completion day is not counted, or Friday 14 May 2027 if it is. The Act does not say which. To be safe, get your written notice to both the mediator and the Board by Friday 14 May 2027 at the latest. If you have second thoughts, tell your solicitor straight away.
The cost of turning down an assessment. If the Board makes an assessment, the respondent accepts it and you do not, you may then sue. But if the damages you are awarded in court, or accept in settlement, are no more than the Board's assessment, the court cannot award you your costs. The respondent is also treated as having made a tender of payment (a formal offer under the court rules) equal to the assessment on the date it accepted the assessment. Ask your solicitor what that deemed tender could mean for the costs in your case, including whether you could end up paying some of the defendant's costs. The court can disapply the deemed tender, for special cause, if it finds the defendant could not have paid the assessed amount on that date. Some exceptions apply to both rules, for example where the defendant makes a formal offer in a different amount or makes a payment into court. Before you reject an assessment, ask your solicitor to weigh this risk carefully.
For more on claims of this kind, see our page on personal injury claims.
Medical negligence claims
Claims arising out of the provision of a health service, a medical or surgical procedure, or medical advice or treatment do not go through the Injuries Resolution Board. There is no Board assessment or Board mediation for them. For claims against the State, the State Claims Agency describes resolving claims by negotiation, by meetings between the parties, by mediation and, in a small share of cases, by court judgment.
Claims against the HSE and voluntary hospitals. Under the Clinical Indemnity Scheme, the State Claims Agency manages and resolves clinical negligence claims on behalf of the HSE and voluntary health and social care organisations that the Minister for Health has indemnified. The scheme does not cover GP services, except where they are provided on behalf of a State authority covered by the scheme. The State Claims Agency says it strongly favours a non-adversarial approach and is committed to expanding its use of mediation and other ADR methods. It describes mediation as "particularly suitable for resolving complex clinical claims". In 2024, 43% of claims concluded by its Clinical Claims Unit where damages were paid involved a mediation process, up from 40% in 2023 and 32% in 2022. Mediation is also part of the settlement schemes it set up for H1N1 flu vaccination claims and for the South Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services claims. If your concern is about mental health services for a child, see our page on CAMHS negligence claims.
The Agency also says it investigates each claim and evaluates liability before deciding how to resolve it. Where it considers the State is not liable, or the amount claimed is excessive, its policy is to contest the claim or the amount. Willingness to mediate is not the same as willingness to pay. Ask your solicitor what evidence your claim will need before a mediation is worth attempting.
No statutory pre-action protocol yet. The law contains provisions for a pre-action protocol for clinical negligence claims, with steps the parties would have to take before going to court, and for apologies not to count as admissions of liability. Those provisions have not been brought into force. Separate open disclosure rules have been in force since 22 September 2018. Under them, information given, and any apology made, by a health services provider at an open disclosure meeting about a patient safety incident is not an admission of fault or liability, and cannot be used in court as evidence of fault or liability in a clinical negligence action arising from that incident. A change that would give clinical negligence claims a 3-year time limit has not been brought into force either, so the 2-year limit described above still applies.
For more on these claims, see our pages on hospital negligence claims, GP negligence claims and birth injury claims.
Professional negligence claims
Claims against professionals for negligence are civil disputes. Mediation under the Mediation Act is available for them in the same way as for other civil claims, and the Act's definition of a "dispute" includes a complaint. These claims do not go through the Injuries Resolution Board unless they involve a personal injury of a kind the Board deals with.
If your complaint is about a solicitor or barrister. As well as, or instead of, a negligence claim, you may be able to complain to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA). It handles complaints about inadequate legal services, excessive costs and misconduct. Its complaints service is free, but it cannot give you legal advice or represent you. For complaints about quality of service or overcharging, it first tries to resolve the complaint informally with you and the lawyer. There is generally a three-year time limit for complaints about inadequate legal services and excessive costs, and no time limit for misconduct complaints. The LSRA says its investigations can take 12 to 18 months.
If it upholds a complaint about inadequate services, the LSRA can direct the lawyer to put right the error at their own expense, transfer your documents to another solicitor, or pay you compensation. On an inadequate services complaint dealt with by the LSRA itself, the Act caps that compensation at €3,000. Where a complaint is referred to the LSRA's Complaints Committee and investigated by one of its Divisional Committees, the Committee can direct compensation of up to €5,000. Any payment the LSRA directs is "without prejudice to any legal right of the client", so the payment does not by itself take away any legal right you have. If your loss is larger, ask your solicitor whether a negligence claim is the better route.
For more, see our page on professional negligence claims.
Arbitration
Arbitration is different from mediation. An arbitrator makes a decision (an "award"). Unless the parties agree otherwise, the award is binding on them and can be enforced either by court action or, with the leave of the High Court, in the same way as a judgment of that court. The Mediation Act does not apply to arbitration. Arbitration usually depends on the parties having agreed to it, for example in a contract, though some laws require particular disputes to go to arbitration.
What happens if mediation does not work?
The claim can still go on through the court process. Mediation is voluntary and the outcome is for the parties to decide, so ending it without agreement does not settle your claim against you. What was said in the mediation stays confidential, subject to the exceptions above. If the court invited the parties to mediate and they apply to bring the case back before the court, the mediator's report states only whether the mediation took place (and if not, why not), whether a settlement was reached and, if a settlement was reached on all or some matters, its terms.
At the Injuries Resolution Board, a failed mediation leads to an assessment where the conditions for that are met.
This article was prepared on 13 October 2026 and cites the statute book, the revised acts and the court rules.
Sources
- Mediation Act 2017.
- Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003.
- About Claims Resolution.
- Arbitration Act 2010.
- Legal Services Regulation Act 2015.
- Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004.
- Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act 1991.
- Court Rules.
- Clinical Indemnity Scheme.
- Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution.
- Legislation Directory, Act No. 31 of 2004.
- Legislation Directory, Act No. 30 of 2017.
- Civil Liability (Amendment) Act 2017, section 10.
- What You Can Complain About.
- Investigating Complaints.
