Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Lowry for raising this important issue. I know that the cost of insurance is a huge issue for citizens, businesses and voluntary organisations. We have made some progress in recent years in stabilising the cost of health insurance through lifetime community rating, keeping the cost of home insurance down and reducing the cost of car insurance, which is now down approximately 25% on its 2016 peak. However, we have a huge issue when it comes to reducing the cost of public liability insurance for business and voluntary organisations.

The most recent step the Government has taken to improve the situation is the Judicial Council Act, which is now law. That Act allows for the establishment of the judicial council, which in turn will establish a personal injuries guidelines committee. That committee will draw up new guidelines as to the appropriate awards to be given to people who suffer injury as a consequence of negligence or a failure of duty of care on the part of others. These new guidelines will replace the book of quantum. While we cannot interfere directly in any way with the deliberations of the judicial council and its committees, the objective is to bring the kinds of awards people get for injuries in Ireland more in line with those in other countries. We then expect the insurance industry to respond by reducing premiums.

There is an engagement at present between the Chief Justice and the Attorney General on ensuring that the judicial council is set up before the end of the year. A sum of €1 million has been provided in the 2020 budget for this. This should be more than enough to run a relatively small new public body. I know that the Chief Justice is doing what he can to identify steps which need to be taken to ensure that the council is in a position to hit the ground running once established. I hope that once the new guidelines are in place, and even before then, judges will recognise the importance of having reasonable guidelines and awards that are in line with international norms because high payouts have a real-world impact. This is not just about the plaintiff in question; it is also about the wider impact on society. Very high payments coupled with very high premiums in Ireland are having a real impact. They are causing businesses to close, jobs to be lost and sporting, leisure and musical activities that take place in other countries to be unviable in Ireland. That is wrong, and we need to consider the wider social and economic impact of high awards on people in general.

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