Public Consultation on setting the Discount Rate in Personal Injury Cases

The Department of Justice and Equality invites interested parties to make submissions in relation to the issue of the personal injury discount rate, also known as the real rate of return, and how it should be set. This rate is used by the courts in cases involving catastrophic personal injuries to determine the size of an award necessary to compensate a person for damages for future loss.

In engaging in a public consultation on the issue, the department’s intention is not to change the fundamental principle that a claimant should be fully compensated but to ask a series of questions about what if anything needs to be done in order to update the current system of setting the discount rate.

There are two key issues on which the department is seeking views on:

• in determining the discount rate, should it be left to the Judiciary to decide on the appropriate rate on a case by case basis, or should the existing section 24 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 be amended by introducing principles and policies to allow the Minister for Justice and Equality to determine the rate and review at intervals thereafter?
• as has happened in the UK, is there a need to update the investment strategy that a plaintiff is assumed to take in determining the discount rate (currently very risk averse)?

The consultation document can be accessed here.

On the basis of submissions received, the department will make recommendations to the Minister as to how to take this matter forward.

Submissions in writing should be sent to discountrateconsultation@justice.ie by 5 August 2020.