Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Insurance reform is a key priority for this Government and is reflected in the Programme for Government, the Government’s Action Plan for Insurance Reform, and in my Justice Plan 2022.

This is a whole-of-Government effort. My Department has responsibility or part responsibility for 34 of the 66 actions contained in the Action Plan, 26 of which are now complete, including the introduction of the Personal Injuries Guidelines, the enactment of the Criminal Justice (Perjury and Related Offences) Act 2021 and the establishment of the Insurance Fraud Coordination Office, which was opened by An Garda Síochána last July.

Last month, I received Government approval to reform duty of care legislation, which is a key insurance reform measure and an important part of the Government’s Action Plan.

I am proposing to amend a number of sections of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1995, in line with the Government policy objective of restricting the liability of occupiers.

I believe these proposals strike the right balance between ensuring that businesses, community groups and organisers of events fulfil their duty of care responsibilities, while also acknowledging the importance of personal responsibility of visitors, recreational users and trespassers.

The proposed amendments, which build on a Review Paper prepared by my Department in February 2021, and subsequently published, contain four key developments:

- they insert into primary law a number of recent court decisions which rebalance the duty of care owed by occupiers to visitors and recreational users;

- they change the standard to clarify that when the occupier of a property has acted with reckless disregard for a recreational user or trespasser, the standard of reckless disregard rather than that of reasonable grounds should apply in relation to any consideration of liability;

- they limit the circumstances in which a court can impose liability on the occupier of a premises where a person has entered onto premises for the purpose of committing an offence; and

- they allow for a broader range of scenarios where it can be shown that a visitor or recreational user has voluntarily assumed a risk.

The combined effect of these developments is intended to lead to further reductions in insurance premiums, building on the success of the personal injuries guidelines introduced last year.

The Office of Parliamentary Counsel, working with my Department, will now proceed to draft the proposed legislation, which will be placed before the Oireachtas for enactment as part of the upcoming Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022. The Bill is on the priority list for publication this session and it is intended to seek enactment as quickly as possible after that.