David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 3 would requires the Minister to lay a formal statement before the Houses in respect of a decision regarding a change of index but only where the decision was not to change the index. The thinking appears to presuppose that the reasoning behind the decision on the index to be used in catastrophic injury cases would not be made public or that there would be a reluctance to justify why a particular decision had been made. That appears highly unlikely and I do not believe it necessary to enshrine it in legislation that a Minister should make a statement on a hypothetical situation. The amendment would seem to require the Minister to lay a statement on the reasons for maintaining the status quoprovided for in legislation which would have been enacted by the Oireachtas. There would be ample opportunities for a Member of the House to seek information on a review and the reasoning behind a decision made in a review by way of parliamentary questions or other mechanisms of accountability in the Houses of the Oireachtas, including, for example, via the relevant committee.

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