Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We were told by the representatives of the law society yesterday afternoon that it was not valid for us to compare costs across Europe because most of Europe, other than the UK, does not have a legal system like ours. In other words, it just does not happen. Whiplash does not exist, so to speak, because there is not an at-fault culture or concept. All health costs are socialised and so on. We are told constantly about judges' constitutional right to award what they want and so on. That is true, but they are basically saying it is not comparable to compare whiplash in Ireland with whiplash anywhere else in Europe because whiplash in the rest of Europe does not exist because they do not have a legal system that does that kind of thing.