A three quarter page advertisement in the Golden Pages advises people "Make Sure You Receive The Compensation You Deserve". The advertisement is covered with the words "accidents, claims and compensation". As if further encouragement was needed, it gives a freephone number which can be used by members of the public who think they might be able to make a quick buck out of a public liability system, the bill for which has spiralled out of control in recent years. This is not the only such advertisement in the directory; there are approximately 20 pages of advertisements which have been placed by rogue solicitors.
In many cases people are more than entitled to receive compensation for injuries suffered and those responsible should be made pay up. A responsible solicitor is capable of weeding out frivolous claims from genuine ones but unfortunately the number of frivolous claims is increasing on a yearly basis. Instead of weeding out claims a minority of solicitors latch on to frivolous claims and use the slogan "No Win, No Fee", and when they win the cases there is a substantial fee to be paid. By placing these advertisements in the Golden Pages and local newspapers and distributing fliers these solicitors encourage members of the public to seek a lotto style compensation. In poor working class housing estates members of the legal profession have rented shops where they have erected obscene advertisements which scream "accidents, claims and compensation". This dangerous culture must be controlled and I ask the Minister to take my proposals on board.
Deputies will be familiar with the type of claims to which I have referred while my colleague on Dublin Corporation will be aware of some of the more recent claims against that local authority. A claim for compensation by a person who slips on mashed potato can have the effect of closing down 60 Dublin Corporation senior citizen meals on wheels complexes. A person who feels he is inconvenienced while his home is being refurbished and redecorated by Dublin Corporation at great expense to the State must blame someone and all too often it is the local authority. It is estimated that in 1995 Dublin Corporation spent 100 times more money on public liability claims than on architectural preservation measures. The number of claims has increased threefold in the past three years. Yet few would argue there has been a comparable increase in the number of genuine accidents.
Part of this increase can be attributed to the absence of strict guidelines on advertising by solicitors. When the Law Society held a referendum on the issue of advertising it was on the firm understanding that guidelines would be introduced to regulate this area. These guidelines were due to be published before Christmas but there is still no sign of action.
Many solicitors share the concern expressed by me and others about the proliferation of ambulance chasing advertising which undermines the standing of their profession. If the Law Society does not move swiftly to regulate advertising by its members then the Government will have to introduce statutory regulations. Local authorities and taxpayers cannot continue to bear the burden of the mounting public liability bill. At the end of the day, we all have to pay the price for the greed of a few in terms of reduced local authority services such as centres for the elderly and playgrounds for the children. This House must send a clear message to the Law Society that if it is not prepared to regulate advertising by its members as a matter of urgency then legislators will have to do this job for it.
