Mr. Stuart Gilhooly:

In the end, we are really only discussing 4,000 cases.

Some 33,000 cases went to the PIAB in 2015 and 11,000 went to award. Therefore, 40% of that is approximately 4,000 or 4,500 cases. Out of the 33,000 cases that went to the PIAB, we are only talking about 4,500 cases, around 13%, that are affected by going on towards the court. That is the figure we know about.

Could there be fewer cases going through the courts? Yes, I am sure there could but I am not entirely sure how that could improve. The PIAB, or the Injuries Board, was established to deal with cases quickly and fairly. If one has a situation where the PIAB cannot deal with the cases quickly, then part of its remit is completely gone. We do not want a situation where claimants have to wait forever for their compensation. If, for instance, cases were longer in the PIAB process, people might still find they were unhappy with the award and might still want to go on to the courts to get their legal and constitutional right to a hearing of their case by a judge. I do not believe that 40% is off the wall. I believe it has been the same figure the whole way through and if one asks the PIAB, it will say that it is pretty much what it expected.