Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Mr. McMahon referred to the slip and fall in a car park. One can look on the Internet and find there was a slip and fall in a car park involving a 74 year old woman, there was wet paint, the area was not cordoned off, there was no signage or anything else, she was seriously damaged, she dislocated her shoulder and so on. Why are the representatives of FBD trying to shock us by telling us the amounts it has settled cases for? If their company settled these cases, and if they think there is something wrong with that, why did they not challenge it? One of the issues people have is that insurance companies are settling too easily. Can the witnesses explain that? They presented these figures in a kind of shock and awe, "look at this" way but they forgot to tell us that they actually agreed to them. They did not involve a judge. We can pass legislation such as the Judicial Council Bill, but if the insurance industry is still going to settle the kinds of claims the witnesses have decided to pull out and show to the committee, what is the point?