Hoteliers Oppose Awards Hike
The Irish Hotels Federation has urged the Government not to approve a proposed 17% increase in the value of personal injury awards. It claims that the move would result in a hike in insurance costs for hospitality businesses. Following recommendations from the Judicial Council, the proposed increase is set to be brought before the Cabinet by the Minister for Justice this week.
IHF President Michael Magner 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. For instance, it is only a few years ago that the Personal Injuries Commission found awards here to be over three times higher than those in England.
“This disparity feeds directly into the exceptionally high insurance premiums, which businesses throughout our sector and wider tourism industry simply cannot afford.”
Mr Magner noted that, in making its recommendations, the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee of the Judicial Council acknowledged that they did not find it possible to carry out any meaningful analysis of the quantum of court awards under the existing personal injury guidelines, which were introduced in 2021.
“In the absence of meaningful analysis of the adequacy or effectiveness of the current awards levels, a blanket increase in the value of personal injury awards is therefore very difficult to justify,” he said.
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