Government in pocket of big business - FG

The Government will show it is "in the pockets of big business and the insurance companies" if it persists in bulldozing through, without change, legislation to speed up insurance claims, Fine Gael has claimed.

Mr Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West) said there was nobody to represent victims' interests in the Bill to set up the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB).

And he claimed that the chairwoman of the board represented big business, a charge rejected as "rubbish", "disgraceful" and "completely untrue" by the Tánaiste, Ms Harney.

The legislation establishes the PIAB to reduce the time taken to adjudicate on personal injuries claims and to cut out legal representation and in most instances, court cases.

The Fine Gael TD, who declared his interest as a non-practising lawyer, said that while the establishment of the board to deal with claims might cost lawyers some money, in many instances it would effectively cost claimants considerably more.

The danger was that the Bill would trample on the constitutional rights of accident victims unless it was amended. Injured claimants would have to present their claims personally to the proposed board, "which will operate in secret and deny them the right to independent advice, assistance or representation". The Bill made provisions for vulnerable parties, but they were wholly inadequate.

Mr O'Keeffe claimed the chairwoman of the board, Ms Dorothea Dowling, represented big business, a remark the Tánaiste unsuccessfully demanded he withdraw.

"Who represents the victim in all this? There is no such representation on the interim board that has been established. Big business is represented by the chairperson, Dorothea Dowling. IBEC is also represented," he said.

Ms Harney said that was rubbish and added that the Fine Gael deputy was "a disgrace".

She insisted that Ms Dowling represented the public interest. She had done a terrific job and did not represent IBEC.

Ms Harney said the deputy was trying to imply Ms Dowling had a vested interest, and he was the first TD to criticise her.

Mr O'Keeffe denied it was a criticism but said he was highlighting the fact that there was no representative of victims of the board.

Mr Donie Cassidy (FF, Westmeath), chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise and Small Enterprise, which has held 12 public hearings on the issue of insurance, pointed out that in the past four years premiums had increased by between 100 per cent and 350 per cent.

The legislation would "introduce regulations and a degree of common sense to this sector of the insurance market. It will give everyone a fair reward for an injury."

"If this Bill had not been brought before the House to control the increases in insurances costs, tens of thousands of people would be laid off. It would be inconceivable to allow so many people to become unemployed," he said.

Ms Jan O'Sullivan (Lab, Limerick East) questioned how the Minister would monitor insurance companies, because it was crucial that this money returned to those who paid premiums "rather than into the pockets of the insurance companies".

Mr Seamus Healy (Ind, Tipperary South) said, however, that the Bill was "not a panacea for curing all the ills of the insurance industry of bringing about reductions in premiums".

Mr John Ellis (FF, Sligo-Leitrim) said the legislation would be judged on how effective the board would be when it was up and running.

"If it does not give an efficient, fast service, we will have major problems persuading people that is the road to take" he said.

The Bill goes to committee stage on December 10th.