Carol Nolan: Calls for tougher penalties on false claims
Carol Nolan addressed compensation culture and fraudulent public liability claims, urging support for a bill designed to deter false claims. She argued the bill should raise penalties, impose legal costs on plaintiffs and allow referral to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Bill's objectives
Carol Nolan said the bill aims to act as a genuine deterrent to those making false claims by increasing penalties for such offences, imposing legal costs on the plaintiff and permitting referral of matters to the Director of Public Prosecutions at the court's discretion.
Harm to small businesses
She warned that insurance fraud has left many businesses "high and dry" and caused significant distress. Fraudulent claims can wipe out a business financially and destroy the business person who spent years building it up.
Evidence from the retail sector
Carol Nolan cited the view of Jonathan Herr, CEO of InsuringMyShop.ie, that shops have closed due to crippling fraudulent public liability claims and subsequent premium increases. She said false claims are a plague on many small retailers, with some people pretending to trip or steal and then pursuing litigation or defamation claims when questioned.
Purpose and urgency
She described the bill as important to make it easier for small businesses to thrive and more difficult for criminals or fraudsters to profit from hard work. She contrasted problems in the insurance sector with opportunists in courtrooms and said the measures before the House are appropriate to address those harms.
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Hmm I'll complain from dressed to the speakers at hätte爱imme dangsvilleudseff. And we are all in the words to do. I know, we need a compensation culture in Ireland that needs to be challenged and strongly challenged. We have had many businesses left high and dry and many businesses suffering much distress, due to fraudulent compensation claimed. and I believe that this bill is very relevant and very appropriate to what is happening here in Ireland. As Deputy Nocton has already made clear, the bill's aim is to act as a genuine deterrent to those making false claims by increasing penalties for such offences, imposing legal costs on the plaintiff and having such matters referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions for investigation at the court's discretion. This is an excellent objective. In fact, I am tempted to say that we have gangsters in the insurance sector without having chancers in the courtrooms too. The damage to small firms through insurance fraud is massive. It can not only wipe out a business financially, but it can also destroy the business person who has spent many hard years building the business up. As Jonathan Herr, CEO of InsuringMyShop.ie said recently, Shops throughout this country have closed as a result of crippling fraudulent public liability claims and subsequent premium increases. False claims, he went on to say, are a plague on many small businesses in Ireland, particularly those in retail, where some people attempt to sue after pretending to trip in a shop or pretending to steal so that they can then accuse the store for defamation when questioned. From what this group has seen on the ground, a significant portion of these cases in some shops are intentionally planned by criminals who have invariably benefited from similar exercises in the past. This is why the bill before us this evening is so important. We need to make it easier for the small business to thrive and more difficult for the criminal or fraudster to profit from the hard work our voters.
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