A national group seeking reform in the area of insurance has reacted with dismay to the guidelines recently published by the Judicial Council. Hard-pressed people and organisations, including business people, charities, voluntary and community groups, sports and cultural organisations and small businesses, are severely affected by payouts for minor injuries. We see this effort by the Judicial Council to reduce payouts, but it is half-baked. They are not to be reduced by nearly enough. As we know, businesses are struggling anyway but, in light of the pandemic, it is all the more important that the Judicial Council uses its teeth and reduces payouts by much more. The payout for a minor sprain to a person's thumb is now €12,000 but in England it is only £4,500. In England, the payout for whiplash is only £4,190 whereas here it is twice that. We need to deal with this effectively. The Judicial Council has to go back to work on this and the Government must intervene.

There are two things to be said here. First of all, I welcome this change. I believe it will lead to reduced insurance costs. If the Deputy would like to avail of the opportunity, I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, to talk to him. He is overseeing the whole area of insurance reform and is applying himself with great energy. It is a milestone and will bring the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, back to the centre stage. PIAB will be the faster and cheaper route through which to pursue claims for all. Over time, this will have a significant impact on insurance costs overall.