Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister and I are doing quite a few late evenings here together. I am delighted that Fianna Fáil is able to support the passage of this Bill.St. Valentine's Day is nearly upon us. Unfortunately, we still have a few differences to address in respect of things in here. There are a couple of things that we have been disappointed about. I hope the Minister will take them into consideration. We have yet to establish a national claims information database or tackle insurance fraud in a meaningful way. As has been pointed out here on quite a number of occasions, particular practising solicitors would be well aware that they have fraudulent cases but there has been no effort made to address it. Some might sigh but that is the reality of it. Judges are throwing several cases out and there have been no cases brought forward from cases that have been dismissed. That is certainly something we could address. It might make people think twice before bringing some cases in the first place. We have yet to establish an anti-fraud unit in the Garda Síochána, as we have discussed before, or to set up a business insurance premium index that would track prices over a given period. We have yet to take any action towards stabilising personal injuries claims, although the Minister has addressed part of that today. We have yet to establish a judicial council to compile guidelines for general damages relating to personal injuries. They are just a few of the issues we would gladly see fleshed out further in addition to the Bill that is before us.