Ruairí Ó Murchú
Question:79. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Justice if he will provide an update on any progress made on advancing duty of care legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18108/23]
View answerTuesday, 18 April 2023
Questions (79)
Written answers
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 the Justice Plan 2023.
It is intended that a number of sections of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1995 be amended, in line with the Government policy objective of restricting the liability of occupiers. 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 the Department of Justice in February 2021 contain four key developments:
- they will reflect in primary legislation 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 circumstance where it can be shown that a visitor or recreational user has voluntarily assumed a risk.
These amendments were included in the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 2022 as committee stage amendments in the Dail on the November 22, 2022. This Bill was passed by Dáil Éireann on March 3, and it is expected to commence second stage in the Seanad in the comings weeks.