Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators Davitt, Ó Céidigh, Reilly, Colm Burke, Devine and Lawlor for their contributions to the debate on the Bill. I welcome the general expressions of support for the overall objectives of the Bill and will try to address a number of the issues that were raised.

On the Judicial Council Bill 2017, it is a legislative priority for the Government, and the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, hopes to make signifcant progress on the Bill in the coming months. It has completed Second Stage in the Seanad and, due to the time required to enact and operationalise the Judicial Council Bill 2017 and the urgency of implementing these new guidelines, my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, chairman of the cost of insurance working group, wrote to the Minister for Justice and Equality in 2018. The purpose of the letter was to request the Minister for Justice and Equality to engage with the Judiciary to seek its agreement on convening an interim judicial council with the purpose of preparing these guidelines in line with the Personal Injuries Commission's recommendations for an interim measure of this type.The Department of Justice and Equality is working with the PIAB on a process that will deliver an interim guideline related to the priority area of soft tissue injuries and whiplash. Options to achieve this will shortly be proposed for discussion with the Judiciary and the Courts Service, as appropriate. Judicial guidelines should lead to greatly increased levels of consistency in awards, enable early resolution of claims and reduce costs.

I would like to speak about the Garda fraud unit. The second and final PIC report, like the working group report on the cost of motor insurance, recommended that the possibility of establishing a specific unit within the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau to tackle insurance fraud be explored. On 13 December 2018 my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy D'Arcy, met the Garda Commissioner to discuss matters related to insurance fraud, including this recommendation and the work of the cost of insurance working group. I understand that at the meeting the Commissioner indicated his preference that, in principle, An Garda Síochána not be funded from any source other than the Exchequer for the purposes of tackling insurance fraud. I am informed that the Commissioner undertook to consider further the establishment of an insurance fraud investigation unit within the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau. Senators will appreciate that the Commissioner is responsible for the allocation of resources within An Garda Síochána and that the Minister for Justice and Equality has no role in such operational matters.

More broadly, I am aware that considerable progress has been made in enhancing the level of engagement and co-operation between An Garda Síochána and the insurance industry, partly through the fraud round-table group that was established under the cost of insurance working group and which involved wide stakeholder consultation. A notable output of the fraud round-table engagement is the commitment made by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and Insurance Ireland's anti-fraud forum to meet on a regular basis to discuss and act on current and ongoing general issues which arise in the area of insurance fraud. I welcome the enhanced co-operation which will be very important as we tackle the issue of fraudulent claims into the future.

The Oireachtas has determined through the Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Act 2018 that the Central Bank of Ireland is responsible for hosting a national claims information database. The legislation was enacted by statutory instrument to come into effect on 28 January last. It gives the Central Bank of Ireland the additional function of establishing and administering the national claims information database. It involves the collection and study of data from insurance undertakings for the income and expenditure associated with the carrying on of the business of the classes of non-life insurance which the Central Bank of Ireland specifies as relevant having regard to the policy set down in the Act. The legislation provides for the Central Bank of Ireland to produce a report at least once a year based on its findings and, subject to certain restrictions, to share information with requesting persons. It also provides for other related matters.

I am aware that a Private Members' Bill, the Perjury and Related Offences Bill 2018, has been introduced by Senators. It was published on 17 October 2018 and the debate on Second Stage took place on 24 October. The Bill was not opposed by the Government. The issue of perjury has been considered by the Government in the context of the work of the cost of insurance working group which is chaired by the Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, in the Department of Finance. The Private Members' Bill I have mentioned is a welcome development as we examine this matter which is one for consideration by my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan. The impact of this detailed and wide-reaching legislation will extend beyond court proceedings. I think all Senators will agree that Senator Colm Burke is right when he says it is important that people who suffer genuine injuries as a result of accidents be compensated for them, but it is important that we strike a balance.

As Minister, I cannot ignore a recommendation made by the Comptroller and Auditor General who is a constitutional officer of the State. The Comptroller and Auditor General provides independent assurance that public funds and resources are used in accordance with the law, managed to good effect and properly accounted for and contribute to improvement in public administration. Under Article 33 of the Constitution, the Comptroller and Auditor General is appointed by the President on the nomination of Dáil Éireann. The Bill implements a recommendation from the Comptroller and Auditor General. Section 13 inserts a new section 74A into the 2003 Act. The Comptroller and Auditor General recommended that the Department and the PIAB agree an appropriate level of revenue reserves to be retained by the PIAB and the basis for holding such a reserve. The Comptroller and Auditor General also recommended the introduction of appropriate legislation to deal with excess funds held by the PIAB. Legal advice obtained by the Department and independently by the PIAB is to the effect that legislative change is required to enable the board to remit excess moneys to the Exchequer. The board of the PIAB is anxious for the legislative change to be made in order that moneys can be remitted to the Exchequer as soon as possible. I am confident that the wording of section 13 which provides that the Minister will have "regard to the operational, capital and contingency costs of the Board" when determining the sum to be retained will ensure the PIAB will have sufficient funds to carry out its statutory functions. This is extremely important. There are other checks and balances in the system to ensure the PIAB will have sufficient funding to carry out its statutory functions. For example, the Oireachtas Select Committee on Business, Enterprise and Innovation has an oversight role when the Minister presents the Department's Estimates during the year. Another example of the checks and balances is the role of the board of the PIAB. I am confident that the PIAB will have sufficient funds to carry out its statutory functions. The amount to be retained will be agreed with it, having regard to its operational, capital and contingency costs.

The book of quantum is a record that reflects the prevailing levels of awards for particular injuries. The purpose of the book of quantum is to distil settlement and awards data in the personal injuries process in Ireland and present the results in a logical and user-friendly format. If the prevailing levels of awards are reduced, the book will reflect this, as long as provision is made for it to be updated. The Bill provides that the book of quantum will be reviewed every three years. As the book of quantum reflects prevailing compensation rates in the market, its regular publication and adherence to it by all stakeholders should have a stabilising effect on compensation awards across the market. It should also bring consistency and predictability to the cost of processing personal injury claims, which is a factor in the cost of insurance. The most recent update of the book of quantum is based on a representative sample of over 51,000 closed personal injury claims from 2013 and 2014. It includes compensation awards from court cases, insurance company settlements, State Claims Agency cases and PIAB data. While there are many requests for more granularity, it is important to note that the book of quantum provides for quite a high level of granularity, where possible, particularly compared to similar publications such as the UK Judicial Studies Board guidelines. When the UK guidelines were last published in September 2017, damages across injuries were reviewed and increased in line with the retail price index, rather than simply reflecting the prevailing levels of damages paid. The UK guidelines are published at two-year intervals.

I reiterate that very few cases proceed to court following the PIAB process. This shows that the process works effectively. I want to strengthen the powers of the PIAB to enable it to do its job more effectively. I thank Senators for their time and ask them to support the Bill as a priority. I hope we can bring it through the Seanad efficiently, with a view to having it enacted as soon as possible. I look forward to the continuing engagement of Senators on this practical and important legislation.