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

There are a range of opinions. The Senator has made his statement and that is his opinion. I have pursued the constitutionality of the Oireachtas being allowed to cap awards. The Law Reform Commission, LRC, will come back to us. I am obliged to take the opinion of the Attorney General, and all those other opinions, the Senator's included, are opinions. The only one I am legally obliged to accept is his. I will not be changing my opening statement. The information that I have is that it is a matter for the Judiciary. We have a pathway for dealing with this in the Personal Injuries Commission, PIC, report, namely, the judicial council. The Judiciary will review the guidelines, I hope very soon, and I do not want to have a constitutional clash between the Oireachtas and the Judiciary. That would not be beneficial. If we can do this quickly and efficiently, we will deal with the matter. If we want to bang heads with the Judiciary, the Oireachtas will be wrapped up in the courts for years.