Trevor Sargent
Ceist:185 Mr. Sargent asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will report on the progress to establish the Personal Injuries Assessment Board and on its work to date. [4539/03]
Written Answers. - Personal Injuries.
Seán Crowe
Ceist:196 Mr. Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when the legislation necessary for the establishment of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board on a statutory footing will be presented to the Houses of the Oireachtas. [4721/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 185 and 196 together.
I appointed the chairperson and ordinary members of the interim board of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board on 27 November 2002. The chairperson has engaged in an intensive round of bilateral contacts with members of the interim board. These bilateral meetings have covered matters relating to the future work of the board, for example, the compilation of a database of court awards. In this regard, a considerable amount of information on court awards has been obtained from the Courts Service for study. Discussions have also commenced in relation to the future ongoing monitoring of delivery costs of compensation in the PIAB system. This preparatory work has allowed the members to familiarise themselves with the work to be done and with each other and will enable the Board to ‘hit the ground running' immediately.
Arrangements are currently being made for the holding of the inaugural meeting of the board later this month. One of the tasks of the interim board is to contribute to the preparation of the requisite legislation to put the PIAB on a statutory basis. It is difficult to give a precise indication of when the legislation will be presented to the Houses of the Oireachtas, but the preparation of the legislation is being given priority.