Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are all in agreement that it is very distressing for a member of the force who is badly assaulted at 3 a.m. on a Sunday to know that when he or she wakes up in the accident and emergency department in a hospital the next morning, he or she must take on the State through the High Court to get compensation. We should change the legal process. It is bad enough having an injury. A car accident can be dealt with reasonably promptly without the need to go to the Circuit Court. We are heaping stress and trauma on the member on whom we rely, as does the Commissioner, saying sorry for his or her troubles and that in five years time his or her case might come up in the High Court. It is an awful way to treat gardaí, of whom I am being supportive. I am looking for better treatment for its members.