Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure if the Deputy has heard me do so but I have made the point on numerous occasions that for every fraud case, there are hundreds of exaggerated claims, and for every exaggerated claim, there are hundreds of legitimate claims which are awarded funds on the basis of the book of quantum, in line with the award levels. Fraud, we are told, costs the sector approximately €200 million, although that is an industry figure and I do not have an actual figure. The Deputy must remember that the vast majority of claims are legitimate and this a concern I have about something that is happening right now. I applaud the strength with which the Deputy has consistently been opposed to fraudulent and exaggerated claims, as have I and most others also. However, the big issue we come down to is that over €2 billion was awarded to people in regard to claims, which is a huge quantity of money. What we are trying to do is put in place a structure whereby people who are affected by a moderate incident get an moderate amount of compensation in damages to compensate them for that incident. Again, I am talking about the lower levels of claims, not the higher levels of claims, and it is important to put that in context. That was the nuts and bolts of what the Personal Injuries Commission report is about.