Vol. 550 No. 2
508 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, to mitigate the compensation culture, he will introduce a new offence of knowingly making a false or exaggerated claim as recommended by the chairman of the Bar Council (details supplied). [8190/02]
I am aware of the comments of the chairman of the Bar Council in relation to the need to penalise persons who knowingly make false or exaggerated claims for compensation, to include financial sanctions. There are, of course, already potential adverse consequences in these cases, such as the power which the court possesses in relation to the awarding of costs.
The question of creating a specific criminal offence for a person to knowingly make a false or exaggerated claim is one which requires consideration of a number of factors. I could not say in response to a parliamentary question whether I intend to change the law as suggested. Any such decision could only be made following full consideration of all the issues involved and would, in the final analysis, be a matter for the Government to decide in the usual way.
