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The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has called on the government to reject a proposed 17% increase in personal injury awards, warning it would drive up insurance costs for the hospitality sector.
The proposal, recommended by the Judicial Council, was brought to cabinet by the minister for justice yesterday (8 July).
The IHF cited findings from the Personal Injuries Commission showing awards in Ireland were more than three times higher than in England, and said the disparity was fuelling high insurance premiums that businesses “simply cannot afford”.
Michael Magner, president of the IHF, said: “At a time when cost competitiveness should be key, there is simply no justification for approving such an enormous increase in personal injury awards. Current levels of awards in Ireland are already far higher than in other countries.
“The prospect of the government approving the proposed increase is truly baffling and threatens to undo much of the progress on insurance reform achieved by the last government. Unfortunately, these reforms have yet to deliver any meaningful benefits for policyholders.”
Magner criticised the process by which the Judicial Council’s Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee made its recommendation, saying it had not carried out a meaningful analysis of court awards under the guidelines introduced in 2021.
He added: “Before any decision is made that could drive up insurance costs, we are calling for a public, transparent and rigorous review of the Judicial Council’s recommendations, preferably via an Oireachtas committee. This should include a full impact assessment in relation to insurance premiums, including a business cost test for SMEs.”
Magner argued that priority should instead be given to tackling high insurance company profits and reducing the number of cases going to court that could be resolved by the Injuries Resolution Board.
According to the IHF, the tourism and hospitality sector in Ireland supports 270,000 jobs, of which 69,000 are in hotels and guesthouses. About 70% of these jobs are based outside Dublin. The industry generates €10bn (£8.6bn) in annual revenue and contributes more than €2.9bn (£2.5bn) in taxes to the state.
The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has called on the government to reject a proposed 17% increase in personal injury awards, warning it would drive up insurance costs for the hospitality sector.
The proposal, recommended by the Judicial Council, was brought to cabinet by the minister for justice yesterday (8 July).
The IHF cited findings from the Personal Injuries Commission showing awards in Ireland were more than three times higher than in England, and said the disparity was fuelling high insurance premiums that businesses “simply cannot afford”.
Michael Magner, president of the IHF, said: “At a time when cost competitiveness should be key, there is simply no justification for approving such an enormous increase in personal injury awards. Current levels of awards in Ireland are already far higher than in other countries.
“The prospect of the government approving the proposed increase is truly baffling and threatens to undo much of the progress on insurance reform achieved by the last government. Unfortunately, these reforms have yet to deliver any meaningful benefits for policyholders.”
Magner criticised the process by which the Judicial Council’s Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee made its recommendation, saying it had not carried out a meaningful analysis of court awards under the guidelines introduced in 2021.
He added: “Before any decision is made that could drive up insurance costs, we are calling for a public, transparent and rigorous review of the Judicial Council’s recommendations, preferably via an Oireachtas committee. This should include a full impact assessment in relation to insurance premiums, including a business cost test for SMEs.”
Magner argued that priority should instead be given to tackling high insurance company profits and reducing the number of cases going to court that could be resolved by the Injuries Resolution Board.
According to the IHF, the tourism and hospitality sector in Ireland supports 270,000 jobs, of which 69,000 are in hotels and guesthouses. About 70% of these jobs are based outside Dublin. The industry generates €10bn (£8.6bn) in annual revenue and contributes more than €2.9bn (£2.5bn) in taxes to the state.
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It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution
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