Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Without knowing the details of the case, it depends. Can it be proved that both parties had a contract? Can it be proved that there was a verbal contract even though there is no written contract? Was there a legitimate expectation that an action would follow the agreement by the parties? I would be loath to say that it would automatically fall under it even though there is no written contract. There is some form of agreement, and I suppose it would be a matter for the courts to reach a view on its nature. Obviously the agreement is some years old.

The Bill's objective, thanks to Senator Quinn, is to avoid the legal route by having a legally binding adjudicating system under which parties will, instead of going to the High Court, follow what is effectively a non-judicial route in which a third party is asked to examine the case and produce a fair resolution.

As I just said, amendment No. 10 makes the process binding. That is a good thing because it will encourage more cases to go down the less costly and more efficient arbitration route and will encourage people to pay as they go. That is the nature of the provision's construction.

I have not seen the case mentioned by the Senator, so I do not want to be definitive. It seems to me that there is some form of agreement and establishing its form would probably be a matter for the courts.