- Minister Jim O’Callaghan planning to write big cheque for the legal sector
ISME, the Irish SME Association, has strongly criticised Government proposals to raise personal injury awards by 17%, warning that such a move would take money directly from small businesses and into the pockets of lawyers. ISME say the increase would lead to increases in insurance premiums for both businesses and consumers, further rewarding a legal industry already profiting from vexatious litigation and huge personal injury payouts.
The proposal, due to be brought to Cabinet by Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan on 8th July, is based on a recommendation from the Judicial Council. This is despite Ireland already having much higher personal injury payouts than other comparable countries. Ireland also has fourteen times more personal injury cases than England and Wales, with a population twelve times smaller.
ISME says the Minister for Justice’s support for the increase is a capitulation to vested legal interests and undermines years of work to bring down insurance costs for SMEs and consumers.
Neil McDonnell, Chief Executive of ISME, said: “This proposed increase is indefensible. It rewards a highly profitable legal industry and punishes honest employers, retailers and community organisations. Insurance costs have not fallen following previous reforms, and now the Government wants to undo the little progress that has been made. SMEs and voluntary groups will bear the cost while legal firms walk away with bigger fees.”
“Minister O’Callaghan will have to make a decision based on social good, not on the desire to maintain legal earning power. He will also need to remove the judiciary from the awards setting function, and delegate this to an independent expert body such as the Personal Injuries Resolution Board or the Workplace Relations Commission. Not alone is there no justification for an increase in personal injuries awards, but the final report of the Personal Injuries Commission suggests that awards should be reduced by at least a further 30 per cent. “
ISME is calling on TDs and party leaders to oppose Minister O’Callaghan accepting the Judicial Council’s recommendation and defend society and small businesses from further cost increases.
ISME has previously warned that the Defamation Amendment Bill, now being prepared for Cabinet, has been stripped of its most meaningful reforms and will fail to protect small businesses from baseless and costly litigation. It has urged TDs to stand firm against pressure from legal lobbyists and restore key protections to the bill, including a statutory defence against “transient retail defamation”.
The Defamation Amendment Bill as currently drafted is utterly inadequate, and also requires at a minimum the insertion of a serious harm test, a cap on damages, and penalisation of SLAPP lawsuits.
The association has also called on the Legal Services Regulatory Authority to investigate solicitors who repeatedly pursue abusive or vexatious claims, as their UK counterparts already do through the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
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Issued on behalf of ISME by Heneghan
For Information:
Neil McDonnell / ISME – (087) 299 5658 (available for comment)
Nigel Heneghan – (086) 258 7206 – nigel@heneghan.ie
Rory Sweeney – (086) 897 6442 – rory@heneghan.ie
