the Supreme Court accepted the government's formula of IR£750 per degree of deafness attained at age 60. This was the basis for the Early Settlement Scheme used for most claims. The average claim payout fell from €30,000 before the adoption of the guidelines to €10,700 in 2002, €8,900 in 2003, and €5,700 in 2004. When Michael Bell revealed he had brought a suit for hearing loss relating to his Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil service, there were calls for him to stand down from the Dáil Public Accounts Committee because of a perception of conflict of interest. He remained on the committee until losing his seat in the 2002 general election. In 2000, the National Treasury Management Agency was empowered to act as the State Claims Agency for personal injury actions and similar claims against the state. Although the army deafness claims issue informed the debate on the State Claims Agency's establishment, initially the Early Settlement Scheme remained outside its remit. In 2002, the minister stated the Early Settlement Scheme would no longer be open to new claimants, as under the statute of limitations the issue had been in the public domain for ten years. By 2004, 328 claims had been settled in court, with 14,681 claims being settled out of court. It was in 2005 that all outstanding army deafness claims were transferred to the State Claims Agency. This resulted in a reduction of 80% in the ratio of legal costs. Consequences Cost Defence minister Willie O'Dea said in November 2009 that 16,139 claims had been disposed of, with €288.7m paid to plaintiffs, including legal costs of €100.2 million. There were then 417 "active cases" with an estimated future cost of about €8m. Before the 1998 act was passed, the Public Accounts Committee had estimated a worst-case total cost of £5.5bn, while the Department of Defence had estimated €1bn. In 2006 it was alleged that solicitors had double-charged fees in some 152 claims, although no charges were brought. Other effects The large number of claims contributed to a fall in public respect for the Defence Forces and a drop in morale of serving members. Jim Mitchell, chair of the Dáil public accounts committee, said in 1997, "Anybody who thinks this is not a scam must be blind. We are a laughing stock among defence forces around the world." Criticism of solicitors' advertising "no win no fee" services to army veterans resulted