Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I rise to support my colleague, Senator Pádraig Ó Céidigh, in this Bill. I wish to lend my support fully for the Perjury and Related Offences Bill introduced by my colleague and co-sponsored by my other colleagues, Senators Michael McDowell, Ian Marshall and Victor Boyhan.

On a weekly basis, business owners, motorists, school clubs, schools, sports clubs and householders are dragged before the courts by plaintiffs with false or exaggerated personal injury claims. Yet, no matter how many of these cases are thrown out, there is no disincentive for the plaintiffs. Many of these cases are taken on the basis of no foal, no fee. It is almost impossible to prosecute these people for perjury because no definition of the offence exists in common law or statute law.

A statutory offence of perjury will not eliminate false or exaggerated claims but it will place dishonest claimants in real moral hazard when then go before a judge, because claims are brought to court under an affidavit of verification. Defining the offence will make it far easier to prosecute. Many have watched the conduct of senior officials before the disclosures tribunal and other such tribunals. A perjury statute would also have a significant impact in tackling white collar crime.I support fully the four overarching objectives of the Bill, and, in particular, that we will now be able to define a statutory offence of perjury. It will be one that will be easily interpreted by gardaí, the legal profession, defendants and the courts. Providing a statutory perjury related offence includes false statements on oath, false statutory declarations and false declarations to obtain registration for carrying on a vocation or profession. Clear statutory penalties will act as both a deterrent for the act of perjury and will be significantly punitive to reflect the substantial effect that perjury can have. This Bill will also update, repeal and consolidate historical statutory provisions concerning the offence of perjury or that relate to the offence of perjury.

We have all seen the videos of the people going into bathrooms. In my home town of Galway, thanks to closed-circuit television, CCTV, there was a case of personal injuries where people claimed there was a spillage but they were clearly seen practising the fall. In a situation like that, small businesses are being severely damaged. If we put this into context, increasing costs of insurance mean that one person's lie becomes everybody's financial liability. That encompasses what Senator Ó Céidigh is trying to do. He has the full backing of the commercial world and small and medium enterprises in particular. They are very concerned with the damage claims and false claims can do to such businesses and, indeed, also to schools. We have, thankfully, recently seen where vexatious claims brought against schools for the normal day-to-day carry-on of kids have been thrown out by the judges. I congratulate my colleague on bringing this timely Bill forward.