Seanad debates

Wednesday, 12 March 2003

For that reason, I hope that the Minister will dismiss out of hand the self-serving report that the legal profession commissioned to stop any useful movement by the Government to make accident settlements cheaper. It does not stand up to inspection. If someone wishes to write such a report, I want to see it paid for and carried out by a person with no vested interest whatever. All the questions can be answered. There is no free market. One of the great conundrums about this is, if insurance companies in Ireland are so profitable, why all the other insurance companies in Europe do not set up business here now that we are all together in the euro zone. The reason is that, when they see the mess that we have here, they will not come near us. On the Continent, in most cases, if a person has an accident, certain things click into place. There is firmly established pay-related social insurance covering loss of earnings and so on, meaning that it does not form part of the claim. The general medical system of the country will pick up almost all of the medical costs. Those two cost elements are therefore removed.

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