Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 4, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following:“Amendment of section 57CI of PART VIIB of the Principal Act

7. Amendment of section 57CI of PART VIIB of the Principal Act (as inserted by section 16 of the Act of 2004), in subsection 1 of section 578CI of PART VIIB of the Principal Act (as inserted by section 16 of the Act of 2004) is amended by inserting the following after subsection 5:

"(5A) The Financial Services Ombudsman Council shall review on an annual basis the maximum compensation ceiling prescribed by the regulations of the Financial Services Ombudsman Council, with particular regard for the number and scale of upheld or substantially upheld complaints where the loss incurred on the complainant exceeds the maximum compensation ceiling under the current regulation.".".

I commend Deputy Doherty on getting his Bill to this point and on helping to encourage the Government to publish its Bill. The Minister has referred a number of times to the Government Bill that was published yesterday.

However, our function today is to improve and assess Deputy Doherty's Bill. We will see where everything ends up ultimately in terms of his and the Government's Bills, but today's focus is on Deputy Doherty's Bill.

This is a straightforward amendment. The issue was raised by the Free Legal Advice Centres, FLAC, and relates to the maximum compensation ceiling. The amendment's provisions are designed to reflect the reality that, in some cases, the loss can exceed the maximum compensation ceiling. I am seeking to give the council the power to review it on an annual basis.