Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

The courts are being clogged up with claims. A person will sue if they allegedly fall into a pothole. We have read stories of Dublin City Council being sued for millions. The fact remains that accidents occur and there are genuine victims. I hope the purpose of the legislation is not to penalise people who have been involved in accidents or are the victims of events which were not their fault. If people suffer an injury, they should be entitled to claim. I hope we can look at the issue in that context and the Minister will accept it is the concern of the vast majority of legal practitioners in this country.

I have spoken to a number of legal practitioners in my area who asked to meet public representatives. They made the case that the legislation, as currently framed, would result in an unfair situation for people who have genuine accidents.

A year might appear to be a long time in terms of lodging a claim. I am not a medical expert but I am aware that an injury might not be immediately evident. For example, I had a car accident in 1989 and I am only now receiving physiotherapy for an injury I suffered but which was not apparent at that stage. That is only one instance of an injury which may not be immediately obvious. In such circumstances, a year is not a long period. We must look also at cases involving people seriously injured in accidents who may not be in a position to even consider lodging claims for a considerable period.

I agree with Senator Norris that reducing the period to one year will lead people to lodge claims just in case injuries flare up. They will submit claims because they will believe they might lose out if they fail to do so before the end of a year. Senator Terry's amendments suggest that the period be set at two years, which is extremely reasonable. Two years is not a long period. It will allow victims of genuine accidents to submit claims and ensure that there is no injustice.

I ask the Minister to take a broader view in respect of this matter. I take his point that it is important to amend the law to combat the compo culture. We need to send out a strong message that making spurious or fraudulent claims is an intolerable practice and that everything must be done to combat it. I support public bodies investigating claims to ensure that those of a fraudulent nature are exposed. However, it must never be forgotten that the law is there to ensure that victims can be heard and that fairness will ensue. In our rush to resolve one problem let us not create another, particularly for people who are genuine victims of accidents.