Results 8,361-8,380 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: I welcome Deputy Commissioner Twomey and Detective Chief Superintendent Lordan. I thank them for the opening statement and for being here. I will start with the issue of prosecutions and convictions for insurance fraud. It has been impossible to get any data from the Courts Service or the Minister. The Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, has referred to some cases anecdotally. Do the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: To be clear, I am referring to offences under section 29 of that Act. What prosecutions have been brought and what convictions have been secured? It has proven very difficult to get any data whatsoever on that front. I refer to the role of the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, in this area. Let us say an insurance claim is thrown out of court on the basis of false and exaggerated...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: That is fine. Perhaps Mr. Twomey could check and come back to the committee. Without going into numbers he does not have to hand, is it the case that there have been prosecutions and convictions in respect of insurance fraud?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: Can Mr. Twomey provide the details to the committee?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: That is fine. We hear some insurance companies, as well as reports on "Prime Time" or in the newspapers, refer to fraud tourism. It is claimed that Ireland has been identified as a soft target by gangs which come here and stage accidents to benefit from what is regarded as a generous claims environment and system of awards. Is there any evidence of that? Are any of those cases being...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: I refer specifically to cases where people come into the country for the purpose of carrying out insurance fraud, that is, staging an accident and making an insurance claim.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: Are they being actively investigated?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: How difficult is it to get a conviction?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: I wish to ask about the divisional-led approach. In his opening statement, Mr. Twomey said it is being trialled as part of four divisional policing model pilots. How many divisions are there in the country?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: This is being trialled in four of them, is that right?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: Which four divisions are they? Is that public knowledge?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: I wish to be clear on the structure and hierarchy here. More complex cases are investigated by the national economic crime bureau. If the crime occurs within one of the four areas where the divisional-led approach is being trialled and it does not meet that threshold of complexity, it is dealt with at divisional level.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: If a crime occurs within one of the 24 divisional areas where the new approach is not being trialled and it does not meet the level of complexity requiring it to be dealt with nationally, who investigates it?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: Are there gardaí focused exclusively on insurance fraud?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: If the trial works in the four divisions, is it the intention to roll it out to all 28 Garda divisions?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: What is the timeframe?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: Have additional resources being provided to back up the new divisional-led approach?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: The Garda representatives have said that since October 2018 a total of 50 reports of potential bogus insurance claims have been referred to the force. They have all been reported by insurance companies. Is that the case?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: Are there other channels through which suspected insurance fraud cases can make their way to the Garda?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Fraud: Discussion (9 Jul 2019)
Michael McGrath: Is there a figure on top of the 50? The 50 cases were referred by companies.