Minister Jim O’Callaghan publishes General Scheme of Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2026
- Foilsithe: 20 Eanáir 2026
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 20 Eanáir 2026
- Personal Injuries Guidelines to be made more transparent
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan has secured Cabinet approval to publish the General Scheme of Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2026 to amend the Judicial Council Act 2019 regarding Personal Injuries Guidelines.
Publishing the General Scheme, Minister Jim O’Callaghan said:
“A key aim of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2026 is to ensure the process for the adoption of Personal Injuries Guidelines is more transparent and comprehensive.
“The General Scheme provides for a mechanism for the Judicial Council to reconsider revised Personal Injuries Guidelines, should the Oireachtas not approve Guidelines presented to them. It proposes that the review period of guidelines should be increased from 3 to 5 years, with this review period dating from the date on which new guidelines are adopted.
“The Bill makes it a requirement for the Judicial Council to consult with the Personal Injuries Resolution Board and other stakeholders when reviewing the Personal Injuries Guidelines. It also requires the Judicial Council Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee to conduct research on damages for personal injuries, including the level of damages awarded by courts and quasi-judicial bodies outside the State.”
“In the interests of transparency, any such research should be published in a manner the Committee considers appropriate and no later than the date the Council submits a draft of the guidelines, or amendments it proposes to adopt, to the Minister.”
In February 2025, the Judicial Council proposed revised Personal Injuries Guidelines injuries applying an across-the-board increase of 16.7% in compensation amounts. In September 2025 Minister O’Callaghan laid the draft Personal Injury Guidelines before the Oireachtas but did not bring a Resolution before the Houses seeking their approval at that time. Prior to the laying of the documents, the Minister consulted with Ministerial colleagues and the Attorney General in relation to the proposed increase in award amounts.
The General Scheme also provides for procedural amendments regarding Sentencing Guidelines necessary to comply with the requirements of the Delaney judgement (2024) IESC 10.
The Bill further provides for the Programme for Government commitment to empower the Minister to ask the Judicial Council to draw up sentencing guidelines for a particular crime area within a certain timeframe and requires the Council to comply with such a request.
Minister O’Callaghan added:
“The creation of sentencing guidelines for criminal offences will enhance public confidence and allow for a more uniformed and understandable approach to sentencing.”
A further provision of the Bill sets out that future Secretaries of the Judicial Council will be classed as civil servants rather than public servants.
Welcoming the publication of the General Scheme, the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke said:
“I welcome the proposed General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2026, which aligns with the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity to support the continued reform of the insurance sector improving affordability, transparency, and availability.
“It is vital that we have a transparent and robust review process in place for the Personal Injuries Guidelines to ensure that we have a consistent and certain insurance market that drives competitiveness.
“As the primary body responsible for implementing the Guidelines, the Injuries Resolution Board plays a central role, and it is essential, as provided for in the Bill, that this is fully reflected in future reviews of the Guidelines.
“I want to acknowledge the collaborative approach taken by the Department of Justice in developing the General Scheme of the Bill and I will continue working alongside colleagues across Government to advocate on behalf of business and consumers to drive the insurance reform agenda.”
Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, Robert Troy added:
“This is an important Bill in the context of the Government’s commitment to insurance reform, ensuring increased fairness and transparency for consumers and businesses.
“The Action Plan on Insurance Reform, which I published in July 2025, sets out a range of priority measures to reform the market and this Bill is further progress in that regard. The enhanced role that the Injuries Resolution Board will now have is particularly welcome and will add to the availability of data and analysis the Government can undertake to inform future policy decisions.
“A well-functioning economy needs a well-functioning insurance market, and this Bill, along with upcoming reforms under the Action Plan, will enhance the sector and provide certainty to consumers and businesses for their insurance needs.”
ENDS...///
Notes for editors
General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2026
- The General scheme is available here.
- Head 3 of the General Scheme provides for amendments to Section 7 of the Judicial Council Act 2019 related to the adoption of Personal Injuries Guidelines and Sentencing Guidelines. The Head extends the procedure for Personal Injuries Guidelines to Sentencing Guidelines, as necessary to comply with the requirements of the Delaney judgement (2024) IESC 10. It provides for deemed adoption of guidelines, once the Oireachtas has approved resolutions and clarifies the position should the Oireachtas not approve resolutions on same.
- Head 4 proposes a number of changes to Section 18 which provides for the work of the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee. It provides for technical changes to the length of time between reviews (changing from 3 to 5 years) and when a review period would start. It also seeks to ensure the Committee has access to sufficient information for a meaningful analysis of the level of damages provided for particular categories of injuries, by requiring research into the level of damages assessed by the Personal Injuries Resolution Board, as well as being able to compare these to the level of damages provided for similar injuries in other jurisdictions.
- Head 5 relates to the replacement of section 32 of 2019 Act, which currently provides for the appointment of a Secretary to the Judicial Council with that person being a public servant. The proposed replacement text provides that the Secretary to the Judicial Council will hold office as a civil servant in the Civil Service of the State, subject to the terms and conditions of the civil service.
- Head 6 proposes a number of amendments to Section 90 of the 2019 Act which provides for Personal Injuries Guidelines, what should be included in same, and what matters should be considered when preparing same.
- Section 90(3) of the Act is amended so the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee, when preparing personal injuries guidelines or draft amendments to those guidelines, shall additionally have regard to the level of damages mediated or assessed for personal injuries by the Personal Injuries Resolution Board.
- Given the relatively small number of court judgements for personal injuries, it is possible that for certain categories of injuries there may not be sufficient Court decisions to be statistically significant for research purposes. To address this, the proposed amendment will require the Committee to have regard to assessments made by the Personal Injuries Resolution Board and thereby enable a higher degree of review of individual categories of injuries and the related guideline damages.
- Amendments also provide that the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee shall, in reviewing the Guidelines, take account of:
- the level of damages awarded by quasi-judicial bodies outside the State,
- the need to promote consistency and certainty in the methodology used, and
- the fact that the guidelines are also used by the Personal Injuries Resolution Board
- Head 7 implements a Programme for Government Commitment to:
- Provide a new power to the Minister to ask the Judicial Council to draw up sentencing guidelines for a particular crime area within a certain timeframe.
- Head 8 provides for consequential amendments to Sections 89A and 100 to reflect that amendments to Personal Injury Guidelines are now adopted pursuant to S. 7(2C) instead of Section 7(2) (ga).