Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)

I thank the Senator sincerely for raising this timely and pertinent matter. Before I deliver the reply on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Burke, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the Senator's long-standing personal, professional and political commitment in this area. It is an area to which she brings a great level of familiarity, and one that I would imagine is the rival of any Member of either House of this Oireachtas. It is something I have seen first-hand in my previous roles in the Department of Finance, where I looked after insurance, and in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, as it was, where I looked after SMEs and small business.

Turning to the specific matter, for the interest of the House and in direct reply to the Senator I will lay out a little about the personal injuries guidelines in the Act and the role of the Judicial Council, what the process is and where the SME test may be applicable. There is no point in me repeating to the Senator the efforts the Government has made in relation to insurance or the importance given to it in the programme for Government. For clarity, the introduction of the personal injuries guidelines came in April 2021 and was a key outcome of the action plan on insurance reform of 2020. It has brought about much reform in the claims settlement framework in Ireland.The NCID has consistently provided evidence to demonstrate the positive impact the personal injury guidelines have had on lowering costs across all settlement channels. The Injuries Resolution Board alone has seen the volume and value of personal injuries awards reduced by 25% and 39%, respectively, over the period from 2019 to 2024, which included the introduction of the personal injury guidelines. Furthermore, the volume of claims in this period dropped by 33%.

However, the Judicial Council, which is entirely independent in its function, reviewed the personal injury guidelines as set out in the Judicial Council Act 2019 and now proposes to increase the personal injuries guidelines by 16.7%. In accordance with section 7(2)(B) of the Judicial Council Act 2019, the next step is for the Minister for justice to lay a draft of the amendments to the personal injuries guidelines before each House of the Oireachtas. That is a process by which we can either accept or reject the recommendations. We have no ability to differentiate or to set a different level. That is a matter for an independent body.

The application of the SME test is a little more complicated than perhaps I would like it to be. It has been used over 20 times in legislation since it was introduced last year under the Minister, Deputy Burke, but the test is a matter for all Departments to consider in respect of policy and legislation under their remits. It is not simply a matter for the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. It would also have to take in the Departments of Finance and justice as well feedback from all other affected Departments, which, on something such as this, is all of them. As I said, whether to accept the personal injury guidelines is a matter for the Oireachtas.

Speaking personally, although I am probably breaking the rules here, I would be very concerned about the introduction of the test. I have heard the very real concerns laid out by people who do not usually agree with each other on this area. We heard it this morning on the radio and have seen it over recent days and weeks. It needs very serious reflection by all parts of government and the Oireachtas. I have no objection in principle to the application of the SME test but I am not sure that is the exact tool that is necessary in this regard due to the nature of the system by which these recommendations are brought to the Houses.