Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Any progress that is made in enabling the quicker and cheaper settlement of claims without having to go to the courts has potentially positive benefits for individual private customers and for businesses across Tipperary and nationally who are facing severe cost increases. It is Sinn Féin's desire that a properly designed Bill will assist in this by cutting down on litigation and getting the issue of compensation resolved quicker and at a lower cost. We have all seen too many instances of businesses closing or cutting back and community events being cancelled because of the high cost of insurance. The very fact that since the introduction of the personal injuries guidelines the average awards for personal injuries claims are down by 42% compared with 2020 shows the value of PIAB and a system for which Sinn Féin has long campaigned, where the deep pockets of insurance companies do not tip the scales in their favour. We need to ensure that this continues unabated in the expansion, through this Bill, of the work PIAB will do. If this is to be achieved, alongside a potential increase in the number of personal injury claims that can be resolved through PIAB via the introduction of assessment of injuries of a psychological nature, we have to ensure that this Bill is fit for purpose and is adequately resourced to allow PIAB to effectively do the work that is planned for it.

It was noted during the pre-legislative scrutiny process that more clarity is needed about how the dual purposes of assessment and mediation are addressed and dealt with within PIAB. The Minister of State noted that individuals would not work on an assessment and a mediation of the same case. Has the Department determined how many staff would be needed to facilitate this two-pronged approach to ensure PIAB is adequately staffed and does not become subject to a logjam? If what I have just mentioned results in mediation staff being outsourced, what steps are being taken to ensure they become as embedded in PIAB as possible to ensure that claimants have as much faith as possible in them being part and parcel of the PIAB and not subject to external influences?

It is also a fact that despite the positive work being carried out by the board, claimants still feel obliged to engage the services of a legal adviser in the mediation process. A full 29% of costs associated with settling injury claims between 2015 and 2020 were legal costs. Again, the Department indicated that consideration would be given to the issue of legal expenses still being incurred. Will the Minster of State expand on that and on what is proposed?

I support the strengthening of the role of PIAB. It allows for cheaper and quicker access to dispute resolution with the purpose of lowering insurance prices. However, we need to ensure this ethos is not forgotten in the course of refining and expanding its remit. For this reason, it is important that we place this Bill under as much scrutiny as possible. I appeal to the Minister of State to consider the contributions that all Members make to this Bill so that we can ensure that homes and businesses across Tipperary and nationally can benefit from the expansion in the role of PIAB, through their premiums and through the process of claim resolution.

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