Mr. Stuart Gilhooly:

I will deal with a couple of the matters raised by the Senator. Perhaps Mr. Murphy will come in on some of the other matters. I will begin by responding to the Senator's questions about damages and the book of quantum. It is fair to say that her analysis of the jurisprudence of the court of appeal - I think that is what she was reading from earlier - is a sign of a recalibration of how the courts are looking at damages. I think she will find that in the past nine or 12 months, the courts have taken the view that damages must be in line with what society expects from its citizens. In the past nine months, there have been at least five cases in which damages have been halved. I think the courts are taking it on themselves to deal with this issue. I think they would welcome a new book of quantum. In recent years, many people have commented that the current book is out of date. I do not doubt that it is out of date.

It remains to be seen what is in it. From what we have heard in the media and from those who have seen it - I have not seen it - my understanding is that at the lower levels, strangely, it appears as though they are a little bit higher but at the higher levels, they are going to be lower. Overall the damages would be a little bit lower in the book of quantum but I believe the courts are taking it on themselves to treat this matter very seriously. We should place our trust in the Judiciary which, in fairness, under the Constitution has been appointed to award damages in the State.

We talk about "care not cash" which is a very specific plan that has been suggested in the UK. It has not come into play there yet and is not due to be introduced there until April 2017. It is almost impossible to see how it could work in Ireland because, first, we have a Constitution which the UK does not. In terms of the practicality of how it might work, I cannot see any way in which it could work. I am not sure how one would distinguish between the injuries to which it would apply and the injuries to which it would not. It would also pose a severe danger of real injustice being done to victims who simply would not be able to understand the difference. I do not think there is any prospect of that plan being successful in this country. I do not believe it will even be successful in England. Even if it does come about in England and Wales, it remains to be seen as to whether it will result in any reduction in insurance premiums. We have seen that no matter what happens and what reductions there are in claims costs, premiums seem to go up. They have been going up for the last two years and it is perfectly clear to everyone here that claims to costs have not been. I hope that I have answered the questions. My colleague, Mr. Murphy, will deal with the advertising aspect of things.