Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am informed that the duty of care legislation, that is, the occupiers' liability legislation, was passed by the Dáil last week as part of an amendment to another justice Bill. That has yet to go through the Seanad and I expect it will then be enacted in the first quarter of next year. We expect the President to sign the legislation to reform the Personal Injuries Assessment Board and turn it into the Personal Injuries Resolution Board within the next couple of days. Once that is up and running, it will change the incentives. At the moment, if people do not accept the PIAB award, there is really no risk. They can go to court and will either get the same award or more. The only risk is having to wait. The legislation will change that so there is a risk in going to court. People may end up with less and with legal fees to pay. That will be a positive change.

As I said, the Government is very committed to this. The changes we made around motor insurance took a year or two to result in lower premiums. We believe the changes we made in the last year or two will result in decreased premiums in the next year or two. That is what we need to see as the benchmark for success.

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