The Injuries Board has published its annual overview for last year, showing a 6% increase in new claims.

Almost 34,000 new personal injury claims were submitted to the Board in 2015.

There were nearly 12,000 compensation awards last year, with the average payout much the same as 2014 at just over €22,800.

Motoring related claims were the most common, accounting for 3 out of four awards.

CEO Conor O'Brien says the increase is in-line with the economic recovery: “It’s about a 6% increase over 2014 which is kind of inline with economic growth and activity that we would have seen throughout the tear.

"The level of awards are steady at around €22,000. That’s showing a very small increase of about 1% but very similar to previous years."