Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 6, to delete lines 23 and 24 and substitute the following: "(2) The amendment effected by subsection (1) shall apply to —

(a) an application under section 11 of the Principal Act made on or after the date on which this section comes into operation, and

(b) an application under section 11 of the Principal Act made before the date on which this section comes into operation, where —

(i) the assessors have not, before that date, requested the claimant to furnish to them additional information or documents pursuant to section 23(1) of the Principal Act,

(ii) the assessors have not, before that date, requested the respondent or respondents to furnish to them additional information or documents pursuant to section 23(2) of the Principal Act,

(iii) the assessors have not, before that date, requested the claimant or the respondent or respondents to provide assistance to retained experts or furnish information or documents or co-operate with those experts pursuant to section 23(4) of the Principal Act, or

(iv) the assessors have not, before that date, requested the claimant to submit himself or herself to a medical examination pursuant to section 24(2) of the Principal Act.".

The purpose of the amendment is to delete section (8)(2) and substitute a new subsection. Section 8 applies to applications made to PIAB on and after the enactment of the section, and applications made to the PIAB on enactment of the section where the assessors have not requested information or documents from the claimant, respondent or respondents regarding special damages, or where the claimant, respondent or respondents have not been requested by the assessors to co-operate or assist retained experts or where the claimant has not been asked by the assessors to submit himself or herself for a medical examination arranged by PIAB.

The amendment was drafted by the Parliamentary Counsel in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General. I am conscious that where the State sets up a system where people’s rights are engaged, it is critical that the procedural and administrative system is clear and transparent. People need to know what they are and are not required to do. The amendment makes clear the applications that will be covered by the section on commencement of the legislation. It is important that claimants fully co-operate with the PIAB process to maximise the model and ensure as many claims as possible are settled in a timely, cost-effective manner.

This Bill will cover all the new claims and any claims that are in the system, subject to the circumstances that I have just described. We are trying to capture as many as we can with the new legislation.