Results 12,981-13,000 of 26,357 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: Will Mr. Cahalan give the committee an outline of the process? We have had a general discussion but we never get into the detail of the process.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: Let me give an example, if FBD is paying out €20,000 on a claim, how much of that will go on legal fees?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: What is the limit of the District Court? When a case goes from the District Court to the Circuit Court what is the limit?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: Where a judge rules that a case is awarded €25,000.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: Where would that case be heard?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: When a payment of €100,000 is made to the claimant, it would mean that FBD would be paying €70,000 in legal fees on top. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: Does FBD take a pragmatic decision that it would be better to settle with the claimant? Is this done on the basis that it will cut down the cost of legal fees?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: Will Mr. Cahalan explain his last point that it is all about solicitors' fees?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: When Mr. Cahalan is on the steps of the court, he makes an offer and the solicitor says he or she accepts it so long as his or her fees are paid, which are 50% of the claim.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: They will negotiate more on their legal fees than on the compensation payment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: Ultimately they are only agreeing to withdraw it on the basis that their legal fees will be paid.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: Does FBD operate in any other jurisdiction besides the Republic of Ireland?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: Does it have any sister organisations or bodies which would allow it to compare a claim in Ireland with one in France, Italy or the UK, and look at an absolute carbon copy of an accident and how the system deals with it and how much the payment is? Has FBD been able to look at that level of detail?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: I have spoken to solicitors involved in personal injury cases. They tell me the awards in court have gone down, not up. If the awards have gone down in court, why are the insurance premiums not coming down?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: I am talking about the individual claims. I have sat down and gone through it with solicitors because I want to understand it. They are telling me the amounts that have been awarded in court for things like whiplash have gone down.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: At all.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: So the amounts have gone up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: What about the legal fees?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: Is that not per individual cases?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Costs for Community Groups: Discussion (24 May 2018)

Kieran O'Donnell: When Mr. Cahalan says legal fees have gone up, what does he mean by that?