Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. The insurance industry has brought about and lobbied for a substantial change in the law. We have a situation where insurance companies still make substantial profits from premiums and we have not seen a significant reduction in insurance premiums over the years. There have been many changes, including the abolition of juries, the changes of procedures in courts and the setting up of PIAB. I have come across instances where insurance companies have collected premiums but have then come up with issues with regard to paying out on claims, which is a problem from time to time. It is not all on one side.

There is a robust process for fraudulent claims. In fairness to PIAB and the courts system, if a defendant believes a claim to be fraudulent, it can decide not to accept the recommendations of PIAB and can leave it to go into the courts system. The courts have been upfront in dealing with claims where they believe the claim is fraudulent, especially where it is identified that there are a number of claims arising from a single accident. The legal profession also has a duty of care. Any solicitor takes a high risk if he or she has any indication that fraud is happening. One problem that I have to be careful of as a practising solicitor is making sure that, when I get the evidence, it is given to me at face value. If I have any doubt, I would certainly refuse to act further and would come off record in the case. I have done so where I have thought that was the appropriate way to deal with it.

On delays in claims, while I acknowledge my colleague is a medical practitioner, an issue that can arise is a delay in getting medical reports from time to time. It is not because there is a delay by the general practitioner but because he or she is waiting to receive a report and it is not possible to give a final conclusion on the long-term effect of an injury. Not all injuries can be assessed in a short timeframe. I have come across cases where, two years down the road, there still was a question about what the long-term effect would be and the reports sought from medical practitioners and consultants still were inconclusive. I remember dealing with cases where we were in settlement negotiations in which there was significant disagreement over what the medical people were saying on behalf of the plaintiff and on behalf of the respondent and then not coming to an agreement but getting further reports merely to support the claim.

People do not deliberately delay progression of cases. There are genuine reasons. I have come across cases which were settled too early, when, for example, someone suffered an injury, whether a hip or knee injury, and there is a question of whether there will be arthritis in the long-term. Such issues have to be looked at. It is about getting a balance. The PIAB system is working. There is a procedure for people who are unhappy with the offer from PIAB. There are sufficient checks and balances and the Minister is bringing forward these changes. It is important that people who suffer injuries are adequately compensated for the loss that they have suffered. I have seen people who have come through the legal process, have not been able to go back to the type of work they were involved in previously and are not able to do the additional hours that they were able to do prior to the accident. They should not have to suffer because of the negligence of someone who caused the accident. It is important to have that balance.

Our court system has worked well in identifying fraudulent claims and ensuring they have not gone through the system. While I find that insurance companies are able to give an impression that a large number of cases are fraudulent, I do not accept that. Fraudulent cases are easy enough to identify and many of us, certainly in the legal profession, will walk away from them from an early stage and make sure they do not get anywhere in the system because they only cause problems for genuine claimants where genuine injuries are suffered. If a person succeeds at a fraudulent claim, it then reduces credibility if there is a genuine case at a later stage. We need to watch that carefully. I welcome the changes that the Minister is talking about. She has given a full explanation. We need to get balance in this regard as the insurance companies are not always right.