Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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351. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he plans to use his powers outlined under Section 24 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 to set the real rate of return for medical negligence claims; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22759/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The discount rate is the rate used by the courts in cases involving catastrophic injuries to determine the size of a lump sum award necessary to compensate a person for future loss. At present, the discount rate, as determined by the High Court and the Court of Appeal in the Russell vs. HSE case, stands at 1% for future care costs and 1.5% for other economic or pecuniary losses.

Following on a consultation exercise undertaken by the Department, a policy decision was taken that the discount rate would, where appropriate, be set by the Minister for Justice by way of regulations made under Section 24 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004.

To assist the Minister for Justice in setting an appropriate discount rate for use in cases involving catastrophic injuries, an Expert Working Group was established in June 2023. The group was tasked with providing advice to the Minister on an appropriate discount rate for use in personal injury cases. The recommendation of the Discount Rate Review Group that there was no material evidence to justify a change in the current discount rates set by the High Court in 2014 was subsequently accepted.

Work has commenced on the drafting of the necessary regulations under section 24 of the Courts and Civil Liability Act 2004 to set the discount rates for future financial loss and future cost of care. These rates will be subject to periodic reviews. I hope to be in a position to sign the regulations in the coming months.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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352. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he plans to change the index used to set the sum of periodic payment orders in relation to medical negligence claims; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22760/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Survivors of catastrophic injuries deserve compensation that is both fair and adequate to meet their treatment needs. Periodic Payment Orders (PPOs) are an alternative to lump sum awards as a method of paying such compensation to catastrophically injured people. Instead of receiving compensation in one tranche a payment is made annually on an agreed date. The annual payment amount is calculated to meet the cost of permanent and long-term care and treatment. An indexation rate is applied to the annual payment amount to ensure that the amount keeps pace with inflation.

A Working Group on the Indexation rate for PPOs to advise on an appropriate index was established following a High Court determination that the index used in primary legislation was unworkable. As part of a two-stage process, the primary legislation governing PPOs has been amended to allow for the Minister for Justice to set the rate by way of secondary legislation.

The recommendations of the Working Group that the Periodic Payment Index should comprise a combination of harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) and Annual Rate of Change (ARC) in nominal hourly health earnings for the health sector were subsequently approved. Drafting of the necessary Regulations is at an advanced stage and I hope to be able to bring the Regulations into operation shortly.