- Minister expects new provisions will be of particular assistance in dealing with cases of insurance fraud
- Government amendments will broaden scope of Private Members Bill to include commissions of investigation and tribunals of inquiry
The Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan TD, has announced that the Government today approved amendments which will broaden the scope of the Perjury and Related Offences Bill.
The Bill, whose primary sponsor is Senator Pádraig Ó Céidigh, seeks to put perjury on a statutory footing. Perjury is currently a common law offence and it is rarely prosecuted. It is intended that introducing a statutory offence will make the offence easier to prosecute.
Minister Flanagan said:
Up to now, perjury has been a common law offence that has rarely been prosecuted. We will now have a clearly defined statute dealing with an offence of perjury. It will deal with people who want to engage in fraudulent activity in the Courts and will also act as a deterrent to those who wish to chance their arm.
In particular, the Minister expects that these new provisions will be of assistance in dealing with cases of insurance fraud.
The Minister added:
This is a part of a package of measures dealing with insurance issues, insurance fraud, exaggerated claims. Of course it will have general application as well. It’s a clear message to anyone engaged in court proceedings, giving evidence in court that they need to be mindful of the need to tell the truth and in the event of a fraudulent claim, an exaggerated claim or evidence then there are strong penalties involved here.
The Minister for Justice and Equality has been working closely with Senator Ó Céidigh and have agreed that the Minister will bring forward further amendments to broaden the scope of the bill to include commissions of investigation and tribunals of inquiry.
It is also proposed to amend the bill so that the maximum penalty on indictment should be harmonised with the equivalent maximum penalties for largely similar offences in the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004. This stipulates that a person who commits an offence is liable:
- on summary conviction, to a class B fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both,
- on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both.
Report Stage of the Bill will take place in the Seanad next week (week of 24th June). The Bill will then move to the Dáil.
The Minister paid tribute to Senator Ó Céidigh for his work on this issue and his constructive engagement with the Minister and his Department in progressing this important legislation.