Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 May 2018
290. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the progress on each action committed to under the cost of motor insurance report published in January 2017; the separate action and the original delivery date as first published in the report; and the actions under her remit in which the delivery date for an action has been missed or changed, in tabular form. [22471/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has lead responsibility for implementation of three recommendations from the Cost of Insurance Working Group Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance that was published in January 2017. Work is progressing well on these recommendations, which include the establishment of the Personal Injuries Commission, and certain amendments to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003.
The Department co-leads on recommendation 16 (Ascertain and set out measures necessary to implement Pre-Action Protocols for personal injury cases) and recommendation 18 (Explore with the judiciary how future reviews of the Book of Quantum/guidelines might involve appropriate judicial involvement in its compilation or adoption). These recommendations are being advanced by the Department of Justice and Equality and PIAB respectively.
On 11 May 2018, the Department of Finance published the Fifth Progress Update of the Cost of Insurance Working Group Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance and on the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance. This document sets out the most up to date position for each of the recommendations and is available on the Department of Finance website www.finance.gov.ie. Set out in tabular form is the update on the three recommendations for which my Department has lead responsibility.
Cost of Insurance Working Group Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance update on recommendations relating to the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation
|
Recommendation |
Deadline |
Action complete |
Status |
|
|
14 |
Establish a Personal Injuries Commission (PIC) |
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|
Establish a Personal Injuries Commission (PIC) |
Q1 2017 |
Q1 2017 |
January 2017, PIC established, Chairperson and Members appointed. |
|
|
PIC to investigate processes in other jurisdictions and to make recommendations to enhance the Irish claims process. |
Q4 2017 |
Q4 2017 |
First report of the PIC published on 7 December 2017. |
|
|
PIC to benchmark international PI awards with those in Ireland and report on alternative compensation and resolution models. |
Q1 2018 |
Due Q2 2018 |
Reports 2 & 3 will be combined and submitted to Ministers Humphreys and Donohoe. |
|
|
PIC to deliver its third report. |
Q2 2018 |
Due Q2 2018 |
Reports 2 & 3 will be combined and submitted to Ministers Humphreys and Donohoe. |
|
|
15 |
Assess within the current review of PIAB legislation, cases of non-cooperation such as non-attendance at medicals and refusal to provide details of special damages. |
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|
Review cases of non-attendance at medicals and refusal to provide details of special damages. |
Q2 2017 |
Q2 2017 |
This issue is being addressed in the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (Amendment) Bill 2018. |
|
|
Publish Heads of Bill to enhance the powers of PIAB |
Q2 2017 |
Q2 2017 |
It is expected that the drafting of the Bill will be completed in Q2 2018 and published soon after. |
|
|
17 |
Fully assess viable options for referring rejected PIAB assessments to judicial process on appeal basis so that facts established in PIAB process do not require to be re-established. |
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|
Review potential legal and constitutional restraints to the appeal style system. |
Q4 2017 |
Q4 2017 |
The concept of a judicial appeal /review style system has been explored and this is detailed in chapter 9 of the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance, published in January 2018. The implementation of recommendation 15 to address cases on non-cooperation with PIAB and work on the introduction of a Pre-Action Protocol for personal injuries as per recommendation 16 should assist in narrowing down issues in dispute to make any subsequent court process more efficient. |
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