Seanad debates

Thursday, 20 November 2003

Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Second Stage.

 

While we do not need to worry, we need to look at the issues raised. We need to know how the Personal Injuries Assessment Board will work and what the difficulties might be. I want to examine the implications of the issues raised in the Bar Council's communication that arrived this morning. The first issue relates to the question of rights. The Bar Council is concerned that justice will not be delivered in public and that the Personal Injuries Assessment Board is a paper based system. Some 90% of claims never get to the courts and so are not delivered in public. These claims are dealt with using a paper based system; lawyers look at a piece of paper and come to a conclusion. This is misleading and unfair. I am an advocate and lobbyist and will argue the point with anybody on an issue. I will also go through what anybody has to say, clearly and in detail. I object to the implication that, in some way, the Personal Injuries Assessment Board is different. It has been designed precisely because 90% of cases never get as far as the courts. In response to the point that there is no right to oral hearings, it is also true of 90% of cases in the current system, unless claimants want to push their way through the courts. The Personal Injuries Assessment Board will not change this right.

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