Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to take part in the debate. I support the Bill and welcome the fact that is now back on the agenda. The background to this Bill is that it was passed by Seanad Éireann on 19 June 2019 and referred to select committee in the Dáil on the 11 December 2019. At that stage the then Government said it would make minor amendments on Committee Stage. There was cross-party support for this Bill, support from industry and there is a commitment on it from the current Government in their programme for Government.

The purpose of the Bill is to simplify and consolidate the law on perjury and related offences. According to figures supplied by An Garda Síochána to the CSO in 2016, there have been just 31 recorded incidents of perjury in our courts in the past ten years. Currently, perjury is considered a common law offence in Ireland and as such is rarely prosecuted. If passed, the Bill would once and for all give a clear definition of "perjury" and provide proper guidance on the resulting penalties. It is vital that the Bill be passed simply because we need a strong deterrent to stop the crime of perjury in this country. It would send a clear message that everyone involved in perjury faces a severe penalty and that severe penalties would also exist for those who encourage others to perjure themselves.

This Bill will be a major help to the many small businesses around the country who have, over the past number of years, faced massive increases in their insurance premiums. Many small business owners to whom I have spoken during that time have made the point that the one reason they have been given for soaring insurance costs is false personal injury claims. As a former business owner, I can relate to this. We all know of businesses that have suffered as a result of false personal injury claims. I firmly believe that anyone proven to have made a false claim of injury should face the full rigours of the law. This Bill will help in this regard and at long last make perjury an offence with severe penalties. I hope this will make people think about making claims in the future.

For the legislation to be successful once it has been implemented, we must ensure that insurance companies utilise its full power. Too many times we have seen cases where insurance companies have settled cases out of court without the permission or indeed the knowledge of the policyholder. The effect of this on the policyholder can be devastating. I know of one particular case of a business owner in Dundalk who thought a small claim for personal injuries was being brought against them. They wanted to contest the case and firmly believed that the client had made incorrect claims and that no personal injury had actually occurred. They informed their insurance company of this and provided as much evidence as they could to the insurance company to back up the claim that no personal injury had in fact been suffered. They found out later that the insurance company had settled out of court for a sum in excess of €50,000. The effect of this on the business was that their public liability insurance increased from €3,500 per year to more than €15,000, all because the insurance company did not contest the case.

I welcome the fact that this Bill is being reintroduced to the House but we need to ensure complete support from the insurance industry and that it will use the power of this Bill to fight fraud. I am not sure how we can ensure insurance companies will effectively use the power being given to them in this Bill. I would be interested in debating this aspect further with colleagues.

Perjury does not only apply to the cases I mentioned earlier. Criminals are walking the streets today because someone perjured themselves for them. This is a difficult situation in that the person who has perjured themselves may have been put under extreme pressure do so by criminals. We need to examine this to ensure that those who have been pressured to perjure themselves are given adequate support and protection. How we do this is probably a matter for another day but we must consider it.

I reiterate my full support for the Bill. We need a strong and robust system in this country that penalises those who deliberately perjure themselves for financial gains or otherwise. We need to send a strong message to those who commit perjury that severe penalties exist and will be used. We must also send out a very strong message to those who pressure innocent people into committing perjury on their behalf that severe penalties exist and will be used. We must protect those who have been forced to commit perjury as well.

Finally, I hope the Government supports this Bill as it passes through the various Stages and that we do not see any undue delay. I look forward to the passage of the Bill and to the day we can finally see perjury for the crime we all know it is and that severe and punishing penalties await those who commit this crime.

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