Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the principle of the Bill. We need to get this up and running as quickly as possible. As we have talked about in reference to section 14, personal injury claims should not be delayed. That needs to be part of the database. Personal public liability needs to be part of it, not just motor insurance.

I have made one point on a number of occasions to the Minister of State's predecessor and to the line Minister. Any instance of big private business directly or indirectly funding our police service is inappropriate. It does not matter if it passes through the Minister's hands before it gets to the Garda. It is not acceptable. It would also not be acceptable if a philanthropist came to the Minister and offered to fund a section of the Garda to investigate rogue or corrupt politicians, or if a big businessman decided he wanted something investigated and passed money through the Department of Finance. It would not be done. We need to establish this as a matter of principle. Everybody on this committee and in the Houses of the Oireachtas believes the Garda should have an insurance fraud squad. Then we need to publicly resource it. Before the Minister of State meets the Garda Commissioner, he should get a commitment from the Minister and make it clear to him that the Houses of the Oireachtas stand four-square behind him. The Garda Commissioner is independent in how he structures the Garda. However, it is the view of the Oireachtas and of this committee that there should be such a unit within the Garda and the necessary resources should be made available. Whether we want to raise additional money through taxes or levies on the insurance industry should be a secondary issue. I welcome the Minister of State's comments about his personal view on this. From my point of view, even if funding passed through the hands of the Minister before getting to the Garda, a precedent would be created. It is just not right.

I can understand how frustrating it is to see people who have had their claims dismissed as fraudulent by a judge and who have taken up court time walking away without a worry in the world because they are not going to be prosecuted. We need to deal with this quickly. I ask the Minister of State to take that issue off the table and to get a commitment from his Cabinet colleagues to make the resources available.

I can only speak for my own party but the Minister of State will have its full support because this needs to be done urgently.