The Small Firms' Association has begun a campaign to get rid of Ireland's excessive personal injuries compensation culture. SFA director Mr Pat Delaney has called it "an Irish-style Russian roulette".

He said there were three problems which needed to be addressed: the high propensity of Irish people ready to sue; the efforts of the legal profession to exploit the personal claims system; and the tendency of Irish courts to award substantial damages.

"Despite having the lowest injury rate in Europe we have twice the claim rate of Britain and our settlements are far higher. This means that for every £100 a small business in Ireland pays in public liability premiums, a British counterpart will pay £34 and a Dutch counterpart £14," said Mr Delaney.

The association has challenged the legal profession and the judiciary to explain why compensation costs in Ireland "are out of control". It said the average award was just over £5,000 (€6,353)in the UK but more than £13,000 in Ireland.