Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The justice system works under the premise that justice is not only to be served but has to be seen to be served. There is disquiet among the people I represent, and no doubt among the people represented by the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, and other Members, about rising insurance premia. It is not until such time people feel it in their pockets that they look around to see what is causing it. People are astute and quick to get to the bottom of things. There is particular disquiet around the perceived largesse of the awards coming from the courts in personal injury claims. I am well aware of the separation of the Judiciary and the Legislature. However, it only adds further fuel to people's concerns about whether anybody is watching this or if anyone is in a position to do anything about it.

Is anything being done about the level of awards and the massive amounts that appear to be awarded in the Irish courts on a daily basis? We only get a flavour of it in the news. A hotel owner made a very valid point to me recently in regard to a newspaper report of a €70,000 award to somebody who had slipped and cut their face. In the same court, on the same day, a person who had assaulted somebody got the Probation Act. His point was that the message this was sending was that if he assaulted somebody, he would get away with it, but as a manager of a hotel with responsibility and a duty of care, doing the best he can, he might have to pay €70,000 if somebody had the bad fortune to slip on his premises.

To be fair, it is more than a perception. It is time this House examined the legislation in order to rebalance liability. The day seems to be gone where people have a genuine responsibility for their own welfare. People seem to dream lotto numbers when, as some would see it, they have the good fortune to have a slip on someone else's premises. Despite all the health and safety, and the measures taken by owners and managers, particularly owners of public establishments, they have seen massive increases of 60% and 70% in their insurance premiums in the last year. Nobody is talking about this, whereas motor insurance has received a lot of attention.

People rightly ask questions about the awards. For example, an award for whiplash is typically €15,000 but, if it happens in England, it is €5,000, or that is what applied before they chose to leave the EU. I wonder whether the courts have become a bit trigger-happy. I accept the separation of the Legislature and the Judiciary applies to the apportioning of blame and to who is right and who is wrong. However, we can legitimately question the amount of the awards as it has nothing to do with the separation of powers. We should examine how much money is being awarded in the courts and on what basis.

I want to explore with the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, the possibility of bringing in legislation to rebalance liability and to ensure there is a personal responsibility and an onus on people. I ask whether this House can do something about the two issues of rebalancing liability and putting a check on the amounts being awarded in the courts, in order to ensure people are not being tempted to pursue claims.

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