Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As a keen observer of the legislative timetable, the Deputy will be aware that two Acts of note have been enacted in the past year or so. Under one, there are periodic payments so that settlements, especially large ones and compensation awarded in the courts, can be paid out over a period while keeping in mind the wishes of and best outcome for the plaintiffs. It is hoped that that Act will steady the sharp increases.

It is worth noting that the number of claims is not a massive increase. This is as much about the size of the awards made by courts in catastrophic injury cases. There is a separation of powers between the Deputy and me as public representatives and the Judiciary, so we must be careful in discussing this, but it is a matter of fact that the size of the payments is causing the increase as opposed to their volume. Focusing on just their volume would be too narrow a definition.

I have read the briefing notes and am trying to remember. The second Act was the Mediation Act 2017, which was enacted in October 2017. It was an effort to bring about mediation as an alternative to the costly expense and personal trauma of going through court.