James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State's reply contained some interesting ideas. I have also been reading some of his reports and statements on this issue of late. He is going in the right direction. This move towards alternative dispute resolution is very welcome. It makes perfect sense. I am surprised to see that some commentators have frowned on mediation for some reason. Mediation is always very sensible and usually reduces court costs dramatically by avoiding matters going to trial and full hearings, which is a far more expensive approach. Equally, mediation can also help parties to see the other side's view outside an adversarial conflict situation, as would happen, for example, in a courtroom setting. Therefore, mediation is to be commended and welcomed.

The Minister of State also previously indicated he was looking at the possibility of PIAB being a quasi-judicial body, in the same way as the WRC, the RTB and other such bodies operate. I understand that perhaps the Minister of State received some advice that this was not possible. I ask him to re-examine this issue. There is a great opportunity here. Perhaps the Supreme Court's recent decision regarding the Zalewski v. WRC case might be of assistance in this regard. This was where the Supreme Court found that the WRC was grounded in statute and was a perfectly legitimate forum for claims. These kinds of quasi-judicial bodies can operate very well and successfully and relieve the strain on the courts while reducing costs for all. Therefore, I ask the Minister of State to keep on track with this approach because it is an interesting idea.

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