Anthony Lawlor (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister of State on what he has done. Since his appointment we have had the personal injuries commission report, various legislation, improvements in the Personal Injuries Assessment Board legislation, and this, which is another piece of the jigsaw to help citizens with their insurance payments and reduce the premiums paid by businesses, small enterprises and individuals. Even today, we see the cost of VHI insurance increasing.

I am a little concerned about a couple of issues. The Minister of State has said that he will push the timeframe for this as hard as possible. The legislation outlines periods of time within which reports must be done. If they can be done faster, that will be all the better. We do not want to wait for guidelines so that in two years we are still paying high premiums as a result of the awards being made in court. I am concerned that if the committee recommends leaving awards as they are at present, which is way in excess of what they are throughout Europe and the UK, we will then be looking at capping awards. This has been mentioned by the Minister of State. There could also be a referendum and we do not want to go there. I hope the Judiciary takes note of the sentiment of the Seanad and the Oireachtas because we are expressing what the people want.