Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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203. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of claims assessed by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board which resulted in no award being made in each of the years from 2019 to 2021; the reasons no awards were made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4886/22]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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For the period 2019 to 2021 the number of assessments made by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) which resulted in a nil value award being made are listed in the table below.

The table also lists the number of assessments made by PIAB that were rejected by either party (Claimants/Respondents).

* One of these 53 cases was an assessment made in 2018 but issued in 2019.

** Not a final tally – full figures not yet available.

For the cases in 2019 and 2020 the nil value awards were made due to insufficient evidence to make a reasonable assessment (usually involving non-attendance at medical examinations). The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (Amendment) Act 2019 inserted Section 51C into the Primary Act which provides discretion to the courts to make no award of costs where a claimant or respondent fails to comply with the request of a PIAB assessor including the non-attendance at medicals of a claimant.

The two cases of nil value awards in 2021 were made under the new personal injuries guidelines which commenced from the 24^thof April 2021 and based on the medical evidence and the guidelines did not warrant an assessment of damages.

With regard to assessments not accepted in the time period, it is open to either party to accept or reject an assessment made by PIAB.

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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204. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the ministerial regulations relating to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board currently in force require the board to keep a record of claims which, based on its assessment, are considered to have been fraudulent or based on false or misleading evidence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4887/22]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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PIAB is an independent statutory body which assesses personal injuries compensation in a timely and cost-efficient manner. PIAB is an administrative body that assesses claims based on the personal injuries guidelines and only where both parties, namely the claimant and respondent, consent to an assessment. PIAB does not investigate the circumstances of claims nor address the issue of liability or fraud.

Under the PIAB process a respondent has 90 days to carry out an appropriate examination of the facts relating to a claim before deciding whether to proceed with the PIAB process or not.  By proceeding with the PIAB process, the respondent would have considered the claimant’s case and satisfied itself of the merits or otherwise of it.  Where liability is an issue, or the circumstances of a claim are disputed, the respondent, generally an insurer, will refuse an assessment by PIAB. In those circumstances PIAB will release the case and provide an authorisation to a claimant to proceed to litigation if they so wish.  

Cases that proceed to Court are subject to the Civil Liability and Courts Act, 2004.  Section 14 of the Act provides that any party to a personal injuries action who has falsely sworn an affidavit is guilty of an offence; Sections 25 and 26 address the matter of false evidence and fraudulent actions and Section 29 sets out the penalties for persons found guilty of such acts, including fines of up to €100,000 and/or up to 10 years in prison.

The investigation of fraud is a matter for An Garda Síochána.  Any individual or company who believes that they are the victim of a fraud should report it to the Gardaí.  PIAB co-operate fully with any requests for information from the Gardaí.

A range of actions to mitigate insurance fraud are being implemented through the Government’s ‘Action Plan for Insurance Reform’. Actions already achieved include the signing into law on the 21st of June 2021 of the Criminal Justice (Perjury and Related Offences) Act 2021. This Act provides for considerable penalties against those who commit the offence of perjury and related offences. The establishment of the specialised Insurance Fraud Coordination Office within the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) is also significant and provides for a more coordinated approach to the reporting of cases from the insurance industry.