Alliance welcomes first meeting of Judicial Council and urges the Council to work swiftly and with the common good in mind.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the first ever meeting of Ireland’s Judicial Council and wished it every success in its work.
Established under the long-awaited Judicial Council Act 2019, the Council or Comhairle na mBreithiúna as Gaeilge, is an independent body consisting of all the judges in the State.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “We have no doubt that the Judicial Council will have a profound impact on the administration of justice in Ireland in areas such as judicial education ,sentencing guidelines, judicial excellence, judicial conduct and the day-to-day workings of the judicial system.
“But it is the work of the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee (PIGC) of the Council that is of most interest to us. Already up and running as a Committee Designate, the PIGC is tasked with drafting new personal injuries guidelines to replace the unfair guidelines currently in place in the Book of Quantum.
“As outlined in the legislation, the PIGC has until this November to produce draft guidelines and the Judicial Council has a further 12 months to adopt and publish those guidelines, subject to amendments.
“We welcome the sense of urgency already instilled in the process by the Chief Justice in establishing a Committee Designate ahead of schedule and we urge the Judicial Council and the PIGC to move swiftly and with the common good in mind in order to have fair guidelines adopted well in advance of the outer limits allowed for in the legislation.”
ENDS
NOTES:
The Alliance for Insurance reform is campaigning for the reduction of unfair general damages to reflect international norms and the principles already established by the higher courts – including that ‘minor injuries attract modest damages
The timings applicable to the PIGC are outlined in Sections 18 (establishment of the PIGC and drafting of guidelines) and Section 7(2)(g) (adoption of draft guidelines by the Council).
The scope of the role of the PIGC is detailed in Section 90.
The Alliance now brings together 36 civic and business organisations from across Ireland, representing over 38,000 members, 667,000 employees, 499,000 volunteers and 374,000 students in highlighting the negative impact of persistently high premiums and calling for real reforms that will quickly reduce liability and motor insurance premiums to affordable levels and keep them that way.
Contact: Peter Boland