James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No 1:

In page 13, to delete lines 6 to 11 and substitute the following: “Form and content of application for initial assessment

11.The Garda Commissioner may, from time to time, specify in writing the following with regard to applications for initial assessment:

(a) the form of the applications;

(b) the information to be contained in the applications;

(c) the documents to accompany the applications,

and he or she shall cause any such specifications to be published in electronic form.”.

This is a technical amendment to remove the requirement for the form of the application for initial assessment to be prescribed by way of regulation. The application form sent to the Garda Commissioner and the application form sent to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board will have to align. If the application form sent to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board changes slightly, then the application form sent to the Garda Commissioner will have to be amended. It is more straightforward to set out that the Garda Commissioner will determine the form of the application and this will be in line with the removal of the administration of the scheme from the Minister for Justice and its transfer to the Garda Commissioner.

Regarding amendment No. 2, it is related to revisions concerning a previous amendment to section 11 and will remove the word "prescribed" from the end of section 16(2)(c). This allows the Garda Commissioner to determine the form of an application for review and ensures that the form of the application for review is published electronically. As referred to in respect of section 11, such a change would be in line with the removal of the administration of the scheme from the Minister and its transfer to the Garda Commissioner.

See this speech in context