Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We welcome the Garda Síochána (Compensation) Bill, which seeks to reduce costs in the administration of Garda compensation claims by having claims assessed by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, rather than the High Court. Under the revised scheme, an injured member of the force will make an application to the Garda Commissioner, who will then cause a report to be prepared. Where the report concludes that an applicant was injured as a result of a malicious incident, the report will be sent to the PIAB. Under the current Garda compensation scheme, applications are made to the Minister for Justice for an initial assessment. Trainee gardaí who are currently excluded will be eligible for compensation under the new scheme. This is very welcome, because previously they were excluded. Under the current legislation, applications for compensation must be made to the High Court regardless of the amount in damages being sought. This has led to delay and high costs for both the applicant-claimant and the State. It is proposed that the PIAB will assess claims using a quantum. Legal representation is not required but can be used for applications to the PIAB. Where a claimant is not happy with the proposed award, he or she may apply to the courts. This Bill will allow applications to be made in the appropriate court, whether it be High Court, Circuit Court or District Court. It is envisaged that using the PIAB as an assessor of compensation will mean fewer cases progressing to the courts. This will lead to a reduction in legal costs.

The total amount of awards that were paid out under the current scheme between 2016 and June 2021 was €26.1 million. The actual legal fees paid out amounted to the staggering figure of almost €10 million - €9.96 million. It is hard to believe that. The legal costs incurred in proceedings regularly exceeded the amount of damages actually awarded. Therefore, we welcome this Bill and it is imperative that it be brought into operation as quickly as possible, because the current legislation is well past its sell-by date and has many defects in it.

We welcome the fact that this Bill provides a streamlined and simplified method for members of An Garda Síochána who are entitled to compensation to have their case dealt with in a manner that is free from legal manipulations and costly High Court cases. The court scheme favours the legal profession as much or more than the members of the Garda that it is intended to serve. It is hoped that this Bill will achieve a greater degree of fairness and transparency for members of the Garda. We often hear stories of situations under the current scheme where one garda receives a certain level of compensation from one High Court judge, while another garda with exactly the same personal injuries receives a lesser or greater payout.

However, one clear omission from this Bill is the fact that while members of the Criminal Asset Bureau will receive coverage, civilian members of An Garda Síochána who operate, for example, under the functions of the criminal assets legislation will not be covered. The complete exclusion of civilian staff of An Garda Síochána from the remit of the Bill is poor and we are calling on the Minister to address this concern. This would be particularly important in a changing environment where many technical functions associated with criminal investigations that are now carried out by members of An Garda Síochána will also be carried by civilian employees or staff members of An Garda Síochána into the future.

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