The chairperson of the Motor Insurance Advisory Board has welcomed proposed new legislation that will require those claiming compensation to swear an affidavit that will mean if any part of their claim is subsequently found to be without foundation or exaggerated, they will lose the entire claim.
Ms Dorothea Dowling, whose board presented their 67 recommendations in April 2002, said at a conference at Waterford Institute of Technology yesterday that the Republic's compensation culture must change.
"Claimants in Ireland wait six times longer than in the UK for negotiations to even commence in their action. In addition to tackling fraudulent and exaggerated claims, we must improve the quality of justice for genuinely injured parties.
"We also need to change the culture whereby solicitors have misled people into thinking that alleging an injury - whether it is genuine or not - will automatically give rise to compensation," she added.
"This is simply not the law. Rather, you must prove that the person you are suing has been negligent and is the cause of your injury or loss. The banning from the start of February of 'no foal, no fee' advertising by solicitors is a good start in shifting how we see compensation.
"Litigation costs add 42 per cent to the basic compensation awarded in successful claims arising from road traffic accidents - this in turn obviously translates into higher premiums."