ISME featured in the media
SATURDAY
The Independent, 16/11/19
Gap ‘closes’ between public and private sector pay
The gap between public and private sector pay is narrowing, according to a new report. An analysis of the difference between the wages of Government staff and the rest of the workforce between 2015 and last year has found it is not as big as it used to be. But business group the Irish SME Association described the analysis by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) as “self-serving”.
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MONDAY
Kinsale Advertiser, 18/11/19
Go Green on Black Friday
Grassroots Movement Launched for Second Year Has Backing from Local Businesses & Consumers to ‘Go Green’ on Black Friday. A year on from the inaugural Green Friday campaign, organisers are getting ready for the second year of the initiative and say there is a busy and fun week ahead of local businesses coming together with consumers to take a different approach to the mass consumerism Black Friday that has taken hold in recent years.
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THURSDAY
Galway Advertiser, 21/11/19
Rabbitte to host ‘Rejuvenation of Athenry’ public meeting
The meeting at the Raheen Woods Hotel on Nov 28, will hear from Fianna Fáil Deputy Leader Dara Calleary TD, former Senator Lorraine Higgins, Galway Chamber CEO Kenny Deery, and ISME CEO Neil McDonnell.
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Insurance reform in the media
SATURDAY
TheCork.ie, 16/11/19
Ireland’s Insurance Crisis: What is the Government doing?
Information revealed to Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Finance Michael McGrath TD has revealed that the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has not had a single meeting with the insurance industry in the past two and a half years on the deepening insurance crisis.
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SUNDAY
The Sunday Business Post, 17/11/19
City council boss would like to axe trees over injury claims
The chief executive of Dublin City Council Owen Keegan has said that he would cut down every roadside tree in the captial to reduce the exposure of the local authority to personal injuries claims. The city council chief said that the courts have made it too easy for people who trip in the street to take successful claims over trip hazards on footpaths.
Read here (Paywall)
The Times, 17/11/19
SureStone Insurance joins exodus rocked by insurance rise in claims
SureStone Insurance is exiting Ireland after more than 20 years, blaming losses caused by stiff competition and a high volume of claims. It joins a growing list of British-owned underwriters quitting the market because of poor claims experience, especially for public liability cover. While many operated cross-border from the UK — an arrangement that would not be able to continue after Brexit — SureStone has a stand-alone subsidiary in Dublin regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. It specialises in home and professional indemnity insurance, especially for solicitors.
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MONDAY
Galway2020.ie, 18/11/19
Call for insurance reform to support project partner
Galway 2020 is concerned at the challenge facing the future of our Cultural Partner Galway Community Circus and the industry as a whole. It is unfortunate that this organisation and the wider sector, which provides personal, creative and physical development for its members as well as spectacular entertainment for audiences, has become a victim of the ongoing insurance crisis in Ireland.
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The Irish Examiner, 18/11/19
Insurance pressure could see Galway not-for-profit close
One of the centrepiece projects planned for the Galway Capital of Culture 2020 celebrations is under threat of closure due to insurance pressures. Last week, Galway Community Circus, a not-for-profit youth and social circus school, cancelled classes for its 650 members.
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The Irish Times, 18/11/19
Galway circus may miss Capital of Culture over insurance crisis
A Galway-based circus due to participate in the city’s European Capital of Culture 2020 may not be able to take part after difficulties securing insurance. Galway Community Circus, a not-for-profit youth and social circus school in the city, which runs weekly classes and activities for 650 members, cancelled all classes last week when it was refused insurance cover.
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The Irish Times, 18/11/19
Judge throws out ‘over the top’ plastic bag defamation claim
A €75,000 damages claim for defamation, over whether a Marks and Spencer customer had paid for a €1 shopping bag, has been described by a judge as “over the top”. Judge John O’Connor said in the Circuit Civil Court that a store check-out operator asking someone if they had paid for a bag did not give rise to a defamation action nor did becoming upset at such a question justify a claim.
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RTE, 18/11/19
Galway Captial of Culture event at risk due to rising insurance cost
One of the flagship productions for next year’s European Capital of Culture events in Galway is in jeopardy because of the rising cost of insurance cover.
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RTE Radio 1, 18/11/19
Galway Community Circus
Drivetime’s John Cooke reports on Galway Community Circus’ struggle to get insurance. Galway Community Circus said the high cost of renewing its insurance means it has had to limit the services it provides and could be forced to close.
Listen back here
Labour.ie, 18/11/19
IPB Insurance should be extended for community events says Galway Cllr
Speaking in relation to the threat to key Galway 2020 events, Cllr Niall McNelis, Labour spokesperson on tourism said that Galway City Council has the solution at its fingertips, as joint owner of IPB Insurance mutual, and should take immediate action.
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TUESDAY
RTE, 19/11/19
Chief Justice keen to move ‘as quickly as possible’ on personal injury committee
Chief Justice Frank Clarke has said he is anxious to move ahead “as quickly as is possible” to form a personal injury committee under the new Judicial Council Act. He said the committee members have been selected and are doing “a lot of preparatory work” to allow them produce their first report and guidelines on compensation payouts.
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The Independent, 19/11/19
Key arts group at risk because of insurance crisis – as yet another firm quits Irish market
A Galway arts group is threatened with closure due to the insurance crisis, in what would be a major blow as the city prepares to become European Capital of Culture next year. It comes as another insurer has pulled out of the market here as the cover crisis deepens.
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KFM Radio, 19/11/19
Alliance for Insurance Reform: Not enough done to tackle fraud
The Alliance for Insurance Reform says not enough is being done to tackle fraud in the industry. It was announced today that a personal injury committee made of judges has been chosen to examine compensation payouts – but there is no timeline for when the group will be officially set up.
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The Irish Times, 19/11/19
New law on payments for catastrophically injured ‘a dead letter’, court says
A new law aimed at meeting the lifetime care needs of catastrophically injured plaintiffs is “regrettably a dead letter” in its current form, a High Court judge has found in a significant “test case” judgment.
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The Irish Times, 19/11/19
Insurance fraudsters ‘should be sent to prison’
Irish society’s growing acceptance and normalisation of insurance fraud is encouraging false and exaggerated claims and providing “an income supplement to the morally challenged”, according to the head of claims at the State’s largest public sector insurer.
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The Irish Examiner, 19/11/19
Committee to review compensation award levels as Ireland ‘out of kilter with international norms’
One of the centrepiece projects planned for the Galway Capital of Culture 2020 celebrations is under threat of closure due to insurance pressures. Last week, Galway Community Circus, a not-for-profit youth and social circus school, cancelled classes for its 650 members.
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NewsTalk, 19/11/19
Committee of judges to examine insurance compensation levels in Ireland
A personal injuries committee made up of judges has been selected to examine insurance compensation levels in Ireland. The announcement was made this morning by Chief Justice Frank Clarke at an insurance fraud conference in Dublin.
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WEDNESDAY
The Irish Times, 20/11/19
The Irish Times view on insurance reform: Total overhaul is urgently needed
Navan businesswoman Linda Murray, who leads a group of over 60 play centres that faced closure this year as they struggled to get insurance, had two simple questions when she stood up at an conference on insurance fraud in Dublin on Tuesday. “When will business owners see premiums coming down?” she asked. “And when will insurers in Ireland insure the leisure business in Ireland?”
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The Independent, 20/11/19
Schoolboy awarded €15k after being injured on Aer Lingus flight to New York
A schoolboy, who was injured on an Aer Lingus plane while travelling to New York, has been awarded €15,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court.Owen Donnelly, counsel for 11-year-old Dylan Lynch told Judge John O’Connor today Tuesday that he was seated beside his mother, Ann Lynch, awaiting take-off from Dublin airport in March 2018.
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The Independent, 20/11/19
Judiciary ready to help reform injury awards, says chief justice
The judiciary stands ready to play its part in recalibrating personal injury awards, Chief Justice Frank Clarke has told a conference. Mr Justice Clarke, Ireland’s most senior judge, said he had selected the members of the personal injuries committee that forms part of the new Judicial Council, and it was ready to get going as soon as it was formally established.
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The Irish Examiner, 20/11/19
Judge urges people to stop running to solicitors as mother fails €75k toy theft defamation claim
A 21-year-old mother, who claimed she was defamed when shop staff accused her of stealing a toy rattle for her year old child, has been ordered to pay the legal costs of an unsuccessful claim against Dealz Retailing Ireland and its security firm.
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THURSDAY
The Irish Times, 21/11/19
Woman settles case over alleged fall on decking at bird expert’s home
A woman who broke her wrist after allegedly slipping on wet decking while attending a function at the Co Wicklow home of an expert on birds has settled her High Court action. Kate Ryan (61), an airline attendant, fell when she moved to retrieve her dog after a hen wandered on to the rural property, the court heard.
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The Irish Times, 21/11/19
Model Zoe Whelan (25) awarded €15,000 in personal injury case
Model and personal trainer Zoe Whelan has been awarded €15,000 damages for a shoulder injury she suffered when a cherry picker van reversed into her Audi car near the Five Lamps in Dublin. The former girlfriend of One Direction star Niall Horan was commended by Judge Jacqueline Linnane in the Circuit Civil Court on Thursday for having made an early disclosure that she had previously settled two road traffic accident claims for €12,500 each.
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The Irish Times, 21/11/19
Intervention on insurance by Chief Justice may be game changer
Just when the problem of the soaring cost of liability insurance appeared intractable, the intervention by Chief Justice Frank Clarke this week is a potential game changer. His announcement that a personal injuries committee made up of judges had not only been selected to examine the insurance industry but would begin work immediately – and in advance of legislation for same – is just the proactive measure required to break the logjam.
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The Journal.ie, 21/11/19
Gardaí confirm they have launched ‘comprehensive’ probe into ghost insurance brokers
Gardaí have this evening confirmed they are investigating wide-scale fraud related to insurance ghost brokering activities throughout the State. The probe is being carried out by An Garda Síochána Special Investigations Unit attached to DMR Roads Policing Unit at Dublin Castle.
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The Irish Examiner, 21/11/19
Government to work with Gardaí and the insurance industry to crack down on ghost brokers
The government will work with gardaí and the insurance industry to crack down on ghost brokers who have duped thousands of motorists and left up to 10,000 people uninsured on the roads. Tánaiste Simon Coveney said the government will make policy changes if necessary and will maintain close contact with gardaí on the matter.
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FRIDAY
The Irish Times, 22/11/19
Stephen Collins: Our system favours chancers and crooks
One of the puzzling features of Irish democracy is the way it enables the dishonest to flourish at the expense of law-abiding citizens. This happens at every level of society and is facilitated by politicians, public officials and the courts, often under the guise of compassion.
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The Indpendent, 22/11/19
Dual pricing ‘isn’t a problem in itself’ – insurance chief defends practice
Insurance Ireland, the representative body for the industry here, has defended the controversial practice of dual pricing in the market and claimed that regulating pricing could harm consumers.
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THIS WEEK’S ARTICLES FROM THE IRN
Security officer’s dismissal was not over trade union activity
The dismissal of a security worker has been upheld by a WRC adjudicator, who was not convinced by the worker’s claim he was dismissed for his trade union activity.
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Butcher wins higher award after SuperValu appeal unfair dismissal decision
A former butcher at Murphy’s SuperValu store in Wexford has had his unfair dismissal award increased, after the store appealed a WRC decision finding the butcher was unfairly dismissed over a sexual harassment allegation.
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Employers advised to think more broadly about retirement ages
Irish employers looking to enforce a mandatory retirement age cannot rely solely on an employee’s contract of employment – even if it stipulates a mandatory retirement age – says the William Fry law firm.
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