Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also wish to express my concerns regarding the rising cost of premiums. It is important that the civil law should be such that it is fair to persons who are injured through the fault of others. In particular, it should be fair to those who are trying to carry out business activities, voluntary activities, landowner activities, motorist activities, taxi-driving activities and all the rest. The burden cannot become excessive.

The Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, was piloted originally by Mary Harney when she was Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I was her Cabinet colleague at the time. Her initiative had a very significant effect at the time. It was generally accepted that public liability, employer insurance and the like were the equivalent of a 10% to 15% payroll tax for many employers, on top of pay-related social insurance, PRSI, making Ireland a difficult place to carry out entrepreneurial activity.

Whether one is talking about small and medium enterprises, as Senator Reilly mentioned, or the very small enterprise of simply being a taxi driver, being confronted with a demand for €5,000 or €7,000 means one is obliged to pay €100 a week simply to put one's car on the road. That is before paying for diesel, petrol or whatever to run the vehicle. That to which I refer a terrible imposition on an ordinary working man or woman driving a taxi. Likewise, it is really scary for small business owners to be confronted with massive increases in their premiums. When Mary Harney introduced the PIAB, it had a good impact. Obviously, some fine-tuning and improvement are required because, as Senator Reilly noted, the cost of premiums is rising. In addition, there was a change to the civil law as a result of which people are required to swear affidavits and not to cheat by putting in bogus or exaggerated claims. That has also had an effect. There was a general moderating effect on premiums when the two relevant Acts were brought into force. I hope that the effect of those two Acts has not atrophied. I am of the view that the PIAB is worth having. The Government should keep the burden of personal injuries claims within reasonable levels by whatever means is constitutionally possible and is fair to people who are genuinely injured. However, we must at all times discriminate between those who are in that position and individuals who are exploiting the system of civil justice in order to obtain compensation in a measure which exceeds what would be considered reasonable in other European countries.

I wish the Minister well with her proposals and in her commitment to ensure that the PIAB functions well.