Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

One solution would be if the power to make a decision was circumscribed so that the Supreme Court might, where it is of the view it would be unjust to remit the matter to the High Court, or where the parties consent, then it would deal with the question of damages. It has to deal with its own award of damages. Clearly, at some stage the cycle has to stop.

I take Senator Norris's point that a jury's verdict has to be given some weight but it also has to be reasonable. If, at some stage, the Supreme Court arrives at the view that two juries in succession have acted totally unreasonably, that in a trivial restaurant column by Senator Norris——