I reckon the only positive aspect of Leo Varadkar’s Government at the moment is it has unintentionally raised awareness of our stomach-turning compo culture.
But it’s certainly disquieting how TD Maria Bailey hasn’t yet been publicly reprimanded or kicked out of Fine Gael over the so-called Swing-Gate saga.
Either way, I reckon she has literally lost her seat come the next General Election thanks to a swing vote, along with her credibility as a result of an endless supply of hilarious memes.
I find it hard to swallow how a politician could have such a brass neck to stick in a claim for slipping off a swing while holding, by her admission, a drink in each hand.
I’ve fallen on my backside many a time in my youth but it never once dawned on me to go screaming blue murder to my solicitor.
I was equally shocked to read the other day that official guidelines say a sprained finger is worth up to €19,110, or €21,200 for a sprained thumb.
It’s madness when you think how you wouldn’t even get such a large lump sum over in the UK for an amputated finger never mind a sore pinky!
Yet you could get up to €80,500 for the loss of a thumb in Ireland, which is too much money for literally not having to lift a finger.
Payouts for minor injuries are spiralling out of control and are costing taxpayers an arm and a leg with insurance costs increasing by a staggering 204% in the last five years, according to Alliance For Insurance Reform’s own figures.
I’m not disputing the fact people with serious injuries deserve compensation, but there is a lack of common sense with regards the type of large payments being doled out by judges and the system urgently needs to be reformed.
Our rampant compo culture is badly affecting small businesses with increased fees over fraudulent claims and the Government needs to swing – pun intended – into immediate action.
There were only 50 cases of suspected insurance fraud reported to the gardai in the past eight months, which seems relatively low. I suspect it’s impossible to put a true figure on the number of bogus claims.
I know a private investigator who works for insurance companies and he tells me he personally exposed over 20 fraudulent claims last year alone.
He spends a lot of time following claimants and has videoed some of them dancing when they’re supposed to be paralysed – he sometimes gets lucky and finds clear-cut evidence on Facebook.
Most of these claimants simply drop their claim when presented with such evidence, or it’s is thrown out of court.
I don’t understand why these unscrupulous characters are not more regularly prosecuted with fraud, or at the very least charged with perjury for lying under oath.
They should be immediately handcuffed the moment after they’ve sworn on the Bible and clearly lied to the judge.
Yet most of them walk away scot free while a pregnant prostitute was put in jail last week, which makes the mind boggle.
This Government needs to urgently tackle our crazed compo culture before we become like America where they sue everyone left, right and centre.
