Compo claim MEP Mairead McGuinness said she has forgotten the details of an insurance settlement, despite claiming at the time that she sustained severe and debilitating injuries.
The newly re-elected Fine Gael MEP was critical of Maria Bailey’s controversial swing compo claim, but now the Irish Mirror can reveal she had a claim of her own after a car smash.
She insisted on Tuesday that she “cannot remember the details of it” and refused to say how much she was awarded when she took the case to court.
Furthermore, she is now telling supporters she has held meetings with a European Commissioner who is “investigating the motor insurance issue in Ireland.”
The car smash happened in September 2003 and settlement was announced at the Circuit Court in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, in April 2005.
She took the case against a car-hire firm after the car she was travelling in, driven by her husband, was in a collision with a rental car driven by an American tourist.
She claimed she suffered severe injury to her neck and back.
McGuinness, 60, told the Irish Mirror last night: “I don’t even remember the details of it and I’m not going to discuss it because I’ve given you my comment about the Vestager (EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager) issue.
“Look, I’m not going to discuss the case with you.”
The former RTE journalist and Ear to the Ground presenter claimed to have suffered “severe and debilitating injuries” according to court reports in the Irish Times at the time of the civil action in Castleblayney.
In the civil bill, issued on 14 May 2004, the MEP said her injuries were severe and debilitating and “interfered with her enjoyment of life and all routine and other activities”.
This was less than a month before she won a seat at the European Elections that June.
At the same time as she initiated the compensation claim, she was actively knocking doors on the campaign trail, fighting it out for a seat representing the North Midlands.
But when quizzed on how she could not remember the details if her injuries were life changing, she said last night: “I have a problem but I’m not going to discuss the details with you.
“Come back to me in July when I have had the meeting with the Commissioner.
“Thanks for the call. Thank you very much. Goodbye.”
After snapping up the first seat for the Midlands North West region last month, Ms McGuinness publicly said that Maria Bailey’s case impacted on voters.
She said: “It wasn’t said directly to me but I did get some e-mails about that. So it did impact.
“I am glad she dropped the case. I know there were people who said that to me having listened to her decision.
“Look I’m sure it’s very tough for her as well but I’m glad the case is dropped.”
Last night she insisted that she is working hard to tackle problems with the motor insurance industry and spoke
about holding top level meetings to get to grips with the rising costs.
She told the Irish Mirror: “All I will say is that insurance is an issue.
“I’m meeting the Competition Commissioner Vestager in July in Strasbourg, because as you know she is investigating the motor insurance issue in Ireland.
“I’m meeting her on the basis of a number of specific cases I have from Ireland about businesses that find their insurance costs have gone up very significantly and for some it is a matter of whether they can stay in business or not,
“So the issue is there across a range of insurance areas and I’ll have more to say on it when I meet Commissioner Vestager in July if you want to keep in touch.”
No details of the 2005 settlement were given at the time - and she refused to disclose the details to this newspaper yesterday.
Ms McGuinness had claimed she suffered severe injury to her neck and back as a result of the accident, according to court reports at the time.
In the civil bill, she said her injuries were severe and debilitating and “interfered with her enjoyment of life and all routine and other activities”.
The action was brought against Ryan’s Investments Ltd, trading as Hertz Rent-a-Car, at Ferrybank, Wexford, and MMM Ltd, trading as Bolands, in Waterford city.
Ms McGuinness claimed in her affidavit that neck pain resulting from the accident had caused restriction in her professional and personal life.
