Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The fact that both Deputy Pearse Doherty and I have selected this issue for priority questions is a measure of how serious is the situation. The Minister of State has put great store on the judicial council legislation and the new award levels coming into effect, and he can say it is a matter for the Judiciary and so on, but that does not cut much mustard for those who are directly affected now. Will he restate the timeline he envisages as to when the new award levels will be confirmed and take effect? If he is saying, as the Minister of State in charge, that this is the single most important issue, when does he expect and when does the Government believe that we will see these new levels in place?

I must put the "what if" question. This does not affect only the leisure sector but, taking that as an example, as the renewals come on stream and people cannot get insurance, what if we see almost an entire sector not even unable to afford insurance but simply unable to access it? Those operating in the sector will have to shut their doors. This is spreading to other sectors as well, such as hospitality. This is a crisis. The Minister of State has put all his eggs in the basket of the Judicial Council Act, the Personal Injuries Commission and so on, but when will that have an effect?

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