Ms Dorothea Dowling:

Ms Byron will respond on the question of shared services, but I suspect our track record of success is one of the reasons I have been appointed as one of the triumvirate to report to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, on strengthening Civil Service accountability and performance. I suspect there is great scope for outsourcing within the Civil Service system. We have reforms elsewhere in the wider public service and need to drill down into them. Shared services are separate from the negligence issue.

On the issue of slips, trips and falls, it is supposed to be the law that those who lose cases have costs awarded against them. It should not be a risk-free journey. My suspicion is that in the case referred to by Senator Feargal Quinn an insurance company was involved; such companies tend not to pursue recovery of costs actions, as they are very time-consuming and take a long time. The general message is that people might as well have a go and that there is no downside. The first two recommendations implemented from the Motor Insurance Advisory Board, MIAB, included a ban on advertising by solicitors with the words "no foal, no fee". It is false advertising because there is no such thing as "no foal, no fee". Suing someone in the wrong means accusing someone in the wrong and an order for costs will be made. In the insurance industry where the concern relates to the underwriting cycle and closing files quickly in order that firms get their pricing right firms are not prepared, much like the members of the self-insured task force in the State sector, to pursue matters by taking €5 a week. It is very annoying and does not seem to be cost-effective, but it has an electrifying effect on those who might be thinking about having a go without a proper basis for doing so.

On the theory of negligence, I am addressing a conference in Limerick on 24 May. The level of duty of care is an international issue, but it is not the responsibility of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board to influence it in any way. We must respect the law of the land in that regard.