Ms Verona Murphy:

I do not disagree with it but the insurance underwriters and brokers have a lot of work to do in order that they would never get to the courts. They need to examine the model of what they bring to the courts. For example, as my colleagues have said, they should never entertain bringing a whiplash injury to court. Everybody has a right to go to court but if the person knows that, according to the book of quantum, which is only a guideline, it is worth €15,000 and the insurance company offers €25,000, that should keep it from the court. There would be no legal fees. Equally, the bar can be raised at the Injuries Board, IB. Everybody has to go to the IB first. I worked in a legal environment for several years and there the IB is seen as a step to be got over. That culture has to change and whether that is due to the legal profession or the claimant I cannot say. Many of the claimants are adept and have no intention of settling their claims. Solicitors have no intention of letting them settle their claims because there is nothing in that for them. This has to be considered on the basis of the IB’s remit. It was set up approximately ten years ago and maybe the bar should be raised.