Results 24,481-24,500 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: I am well disposed to this amendment and have consulted with the Parliamentary Counsel on it. I will come back on Report Stage here or in the Dáil with different wording if we cannot accept that of the Senator. I take the point and we are happy to accept it, subject to legal advice.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: When the proposals from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Minister for Transport are in place, the volume of claims in this area could be reduced over time. We are talking about 27,000 cases per annum.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: I am satisfied on the basis of the work that has been done in advance of the statutory establishment of the PIAB that we will have the necessary resources. Whatever resources are needed will have to be applied to the area and since this will be a self-financing board, if additional resources are required they will have to come from the fees that will be levied on respondents, but the...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: In the first instance, we are talking about a central office. The board has identified a suitable premises and it is negotiating with the landlord with a view to acquisition. We are looking at a staff complement of approximately 80 to 100 and an annual bill of €7 million to €8 million. These will not be civil servants. Many of them will come from the private sector. Obviously, once...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: Yes, and perhaps also people with legal—

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: —or other expertise. It will not necessarily be just people who work in insurance. Many people who work in insurance and claims assessment would be suitable to work in this area. I know the applications for chief executive came from a wide variety of sources. I do not want to be too specific.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: I did not see any Members of the Oireachtas among the applicants, but they came from a wide variety of sources. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Amendment No. 2 not moved. Section 3 agreed to. SECTION 4.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: Before I respond to this amendment, was amendment No. 2 moved?

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: My attitude to amendment No. 2 is different from that to amendment No. 1. Amendment No. 2 seeks to remove product liability. If someone sat on a broken chair at work and was injured, it would involve product liability and employer's liability. I would not be as positive about that as I was about amendment No. 1. I do not want any misunderstanding.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: I am well disposed to what Senator Henry is seeking to do. Unfortunately, I do not have any legal ingenuity about how we would do it. We have consulted on it and we may consult further. From time to time it may be necessary to go outside the State to get the type of medical expertise appropriate for specialised injuries. The medics involved, therefore, would not be medical practitioners under...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: I understand that few reports come from the type of persons referred to by the Senator in current personal injuries practice. However, I will reflect on it and consult legally and come back on Report Stage.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: That report will go to the independent panel, all of whom are practitioners under the 1978 Act. We know that traditional medics, if I can call them that, do not have high regard for the alternative way of doing business. A person would be foolish if he or she did not have someone from what I would broadly call Senator Henry's branch of the profession. I am not being funny when I say that. I...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: The word "happy" might exaggerate my state of mind on a permanent basis. However, I want to ensure this works, whether or not I am happy. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Section 4 agreed to. Section 5 agreed to. SECTION 6. Question proposed: "That section 6 stand part of the Bill."

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: The Senator's understanding is correct.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: Is the Senator referring to section 6(3)?

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: Yes, if both people agree. It would be more desirable than going through the court system.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: Why it would happen?

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: If a claimant and a respondent, who currently advocate going through the traditional route but may not go to court, agree to move the case to the PIAB, is there a difficulty with that? They may wish to do so.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: No. This is where liability is not an issue.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Mary Harney: The PIAB will only deal with issues where liability is not an issue.