Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

I am disappointed the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is not present because this is a serious situation, as he acknowledged yesterday. Last weekend The Sunday Tribune published a memorandum to claims supervisors in the Quinn Direct group outlining a series of steps being taken to drastically reduce the cost of claims to this group and therefore to dramatically increase profits. According to the memo, a panel, consisting mainly of retired gardaí and some serving gardaí, was put together to investigate claims and to use "Their negotiation ... and persuasive skills" in settling claims on the doorsteps of claimants against this insurance company. It further outlined that solicitors acting for claimants would be given incentives to persuade their clients to settle claims against Quinn Direct at greatly reduced amounts.

These are explosive allegations. In today's Irish Independent and Irish Examiner newspapers, Quinn Direct has taken out an advertisement claiming the memo is a forgery and denying the claims. I believe the memo is not a forgery and that the claims in The Sunday Tribune will stand up to scrutiny. There is no doubt but that the——

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