Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

We must be clear about what we are trying to do here. If there are legal issues in dispute, it is always important to have a lawyer. If this board was going to deal with legal issues there would have to be legal representation. However, it will not do that. There will be no oral hearings and legal issues will not be a matter for the PIAB. They are a matter for the courts.

A culture has grown up in Ireland where some people, if they have an accident, are more likely to go to a lawyer than to a doctor. If Senators were making the case that the Bill should make provision for medical professionals to be made available and for people to be given money to pay for medical advice or representation, it would make more sense. If someone has a broken leg, for example, it will be the job of the PIAB to assess how much the injury is worth, based on the book of quantum. It is not the job of the board to examine legal issues. There will be no oral hearings and the rules will define the procedure.