Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is standing up here and one of the main things he is thinking about is how he can generate accusations about me and imply the Government is not taking this seriously. We brought in this legislation and made these changes. We welcome the fact that the Judicial Council has issued guidelines that are consistent with the Government's aim of reducing the level of awards made in our courts. I respect the role of the Central Bank and the work it does in gathering data on this. It is best placed to do this. We will then look at the impact of the work the Government has been doing and which has now been reciprocated by the Judicial Council to deal with what is, we accept, a really serious issue. I reiterate that I expect that as awards change in our courts, so will the cost of insurance. That will take account of the serious progress made by this Government on a serious matter.

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