Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

This issue was discussed on Committee Stage. The current maximum award in the Small Claims Court is €2,000. The legal costs implementation advisory group has proposed that it be increased to €3,000 and reviewed biannually thereafter. This would meet some of Deputy Hogan's concerns. Regulations increasing the limit, the District Court (Small Claims) (Amendment) Rules 2006, came into effect in early 2006 and will be reviewed in two years. The Minister expects the National Consumer Agency will be included in any consultation by the Courts Service in further reviews of the limit. If it were increased to €10,000, it would be beyond the civil jurisdictional limit of the District Court which is set at €6,250.

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