Mr. Peter Boland:

The Vice Chairman spoke about European comparisons. From day one we have argued that if somebody is injured due to someone else's negligence, they must be compensated. The basic structure we have in place is a good one. Unfortunately, it has been undermined by a couple of pots of gold in the sense that when unsustainable amounts of money are added to the level of damages that can be achieved for minor soft tissue injuries, we then get much of the blackguardry the Vice Chairman mentioned, particularly where there are no meaningful consequences to making fraudulent exaggerated or vexatious claims. We have a good system. In ways it is better than in other places in Europe. However, we do not have a system that is sustainable. It is about getting the balance right.

Of course, the other pot of gold is the level of legal fees. While this is not necessarily an issue over which this committee might have direct responsibility, it is a very important issue from a finance and economic point of view. It has been acknowledged for some time, most notably by the troika, that legal costs in this country are unsustainable. There have been no significant moves to get them under control since the troika came to town in 2010. They are at the heart of the attempts to undermine the new judicial guidelines. Until that nettle is grasped, we are concerned that the current issues will continue as they are.