Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will discuss amendment No. 67 as it is not a technical amendment. This group of amendments has substance. Amendment No. 67 states that in the case of awards, that if one fails to comply with the Act, a court can reduce the award made. If the company was going to pay €20,000 but if one failed to comply with a portion of the Act, the award could be proportionately reduced, for example, to €10,000. If an insurer breaches the duty of the Act, the courts can increase the sum for the consumer, which is what the Bill states, but the amendment states it cannot increase awards above the monetary level for which the court has jurisdiction. My only concern in that regard is that in a District Court, if an award of €15,000 was to be paid and an insurance company was in breach of the legislation, nothing could be done because €15,000 is the limit of award payable under the District Court, or €60,000 in the case of the Circuit Court. The court reports from last week show a reduction in awards but they also show that the highest award paid by the Circuit Court was far in excess of €60,000, which can be done where there is agreement between both parties. The courts do, on occasion, pay beyond their limit, and they are allowed to do that when there is agreement between both parties. With that in mind, I am concerned that we are limiting awards. Until I read the report I was not aware that the €60,000 limit, for example, is not hard and fast and it can be breached.