Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second the proposed amendment to the Order of Business tabled by Senator Darragh O'Brien. The Personal Injuries Assessment Board was established in 2004, which is more than 11 years ago. Its activities should be reviewed to see if it is working. From what I can see, it appears more inclined to settle claims without really defending them. This adds to the situation regarding excessive and allegedly fraudulent claims and is affecting the insurance costs of every individual in the country.Insurance is very important and motor insurance specifically because this is what the board was really set up to deal with. It assesses claims but it is taken as a fait accompli that somehow the claim is legitimate. One particular claim has been brought to my attention. It was made in February 2015 for injuries that occurred on 23 December 2014, and the individual had already made two other motor claims in 2011 and in 2012. Either it was a very unfortunate driver or a bad driver, but whichever the case might be, it seems a very convenient way of raising funds. The Personal Injuries Assessment Board is not defending the cases. Once a doctor, a GP or a medical officer, gives a report saying that the person has some sort of injuries, then the board just settles without any debate, defence or investigation. I ask that the Leader would, in the new year, invite the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, to come to the House to review the working of the board. Some of the claims that have been awarded have been higher than claims in the UK. A claim for whiplash, for example, should be the same in adjoining countries. There is no reason a person should be compensated more in Ireland than in the UK. It would be worthwhile to look at these issues. The Bill in question was passed through this House when former Deputy Mary Harney was the Minister and former Senator Joe O'Toole was vice chairman of the Personal injuries Assessment Board when it was established in 2004. While the Senator had every right to be a member of that board, it was unusual for a Member of the Oireachtas to be on that board. I ask that the Minister would consider a review of the board to see if it could be more fit for purpose.

I will give an example. A claim can be made within two years of an event. Surely a person would know within weeks or months if they were injured. Two years is a long time during which a person can decide if they are affected by some scratch to a car or somebody running into a car and then claim. Such a claim could be sent into the board which might say: "Yes, how much do you want?" The person could say: "We'll settle for €7,000 or €8,000" to which the board could say "Excellent", sending a cheque and closing the file but it is the ordinary citizen who picks up the pieces.