During the Covid-19 pandemic, Rosalind Carroll encountered the mental clarity that cold sea swimming can furnish. She realised that the immediate chill allows singular focus on the present moment. As the head of the Injuries Resolution Board (IRB), formerly named the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB), such mental calmness would have served her well on April 9th. That day, she had to make sense of five weighty, intricate judgments delivered by the Supreme Court, collectively accounting for over 400 pages and casting doubt on the recent activities of her association.
The rulings solidified the permanence of judge-approved guidelines implemented three years prior. The guidelines, which had led to a significant drop in awards for mostly minor personal injuries, were supported by a majority of the seven judges. These guidelines form part of a series of reformative measures introduced lately to lessen insurance costs. Other actions include broadening the IRB’s role, which has assessed roughly €2billion in sanctioned awards since its creation two decades ago; implementing duty-of-care alterations last year to tackle the problem of unexpected accidents; and promoting transparency in a previously opaque field through newly-established Central Bank database records and IRB statistics.
Founded by the government in 2016, The Cost of Insurance Working Group has gradually progressed towards successful reform, according to Carroll. She states the reforms are crucial for injecting stability into an insurance market that has often been considered aberrant due to its claims environment. However, Carroll stresses the importance of active management and not just mere acceptance in the implementation process. She is of the opinion that every person working in the sector has a duty to aid these reforms. Carroll attributes her passion for public service and sense of responsibility to her early years growing up in Blackrock in South Co Dublin.
My father passed away when I was just four years old on Christmas Day. It was essentially myself and my mother from that point on, thankfully with the support of our wider family. This early tragedy likely played a significant role in shaping me as an individual with a strong sense of resilience, determination, and independence.
By the age of 15, I had started my first part-time job at a local dry cleaners, followed by an extended stint at a Spar shop for several years. Alongside my further education, my summer was often spent working, commonly in the hospitality industry. I fundamentally developed an intense work ethic during my formative years.
After acquiring a degree in social science from the University of Sunderland, I settled back in Ireland in 2000 at 21 years old and began my professional journey with the Dublin City Council. I initially took on the role of a social worker, serving the Traveller community and assisting homeless families. This job provided me with significant insights into the difficulties faced by the underprivileged in accessing public services.
Following a career hiatus to pursue a masters in policy and planning at the London School of Economics and Political Science, I returned to the council in 2004, focusing on policy. Entering the Department of the Environment, Community, and Local Government between 2007 and 2010, I implemented a rental assistance scheme and managed off-balance sheet financing for social housing amidst economically challenging times.
My ultimate destination within the public sector was in the Housing Agency, where my responsibilities over the span of six years included the oversight of the regulatory function of approved housing bodies and housing associations.
My most recent position as the chief executive officer of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) began in 2016 and lasted until early 2020. My primary objective was to develop an effective structure for the mediation service to prevent unnecessary conflict, thereby increasing agreement rates.
The rental sector witnessed considerable legislative transformation during this era, including late 2016’s inception of restrictions on yearly rent allowances in designated rent pressure zones, which are currently at a 2 percent maximum. “My focus was on preventing any failure and extensively promoting understanding of the numerous changes,” she noted.
The local housing dilemma is as dire as it’s ever been. Government data from the end of February reveals that 13,841 individuals necessitated emergency homelessness accommodation, a figure that tragically included a record 4,170 children.
This situation was exacerbated by a trend of minor, frequently incidental landlords leaving the market, paired with a decline in foreign institutional investment over the past couple of years. Rising interest rates, planning issues, and uncertainty surrounding future policy all played a part.
Speaking at a property development convention in Dublin, the Irish Institutional Property’s Chief Executive, Pat Farrell, stated that while robust rental demand should stimulate investment, the existing policy framework was perceived as unappealing due to ongoing changes over recent years.
When asked to comment on her former sector, Carroll responded in a measured manner. “We are indeed treading dangerous ground. But what I will say, which is applicable to all sorts of markets including insurance, is that stability is vital, and continuous change invariably leads to bouts of uncertainty.”
She blamed an often perpetuated media narrative of “the evil landlord”, the taxation on rental revenue, and consequently scenarios of property owners having to supplement their buy-to-let mortgages as contributing factors in the decrease of small-scale landlords in this sector.
“Regardless of the situation in the homeowner sector, the rental sector is set to continue expanding for a variety of reasons,” she expressed. “Landlords are a necessity. A renter requires a landlord, so it’s not a term to be shunned. I firmly support the idea of a cost-rental model, although achieving a scale that impacts general rental expenses is a long-term process. Maintaining all kinds of landlords in the market is essential.
“We need to concentrate on all types of accommodation. To be fair, there’s been significant focus on the rental sector, we now need to consider the supply side too,” she adds.
Late in 2019, Carroll applied for the PIAB’s top position once Conor O’Brien stepped down. She was attracted to the job as she has always been passionate about working in influential sectors. She values the profound effect insurance has on our economy, businesses, and the provision of fundamental services ranging from local nurseries and community centres to organising music events.
She emphasised the significance of reasonably priced insurance products in supporting these fundamental services. Carroll joined the team in March 2020, right as the first Covid-19 lockdown hit, leading to an abrupt halt of 7,000 medical evaluations related to injury cases. This also prompted the shift from primarily physical dealings with the legal sector to digital ones. Joining a new organisation in a crisis was a challenging start for her, but she also saw it as an opportunity to immerse herself fully.
In April 2021, the judiciary released guides revising personal injury awards to substitute PIAB’s book of quantum standard. This was a response to a sudden increase in claims over the past ten years, which led to awards for whiplash-type injuries in Ireland being reportedly 4.4 times more than those given in the UK, as per a 2018 government-commissioned study led by ex-president of the High Court Nicholas Kearns.
According to the IRB’s latest annual report, the average award for 2022 lessened by 34 per cent to less than €15,900 from 2020, since the introduction of these new guides. The Central Bank, which started issuing comprehensive reports on the motor insurance sector in late 2019, showed in a 2022 report that half of all injury claims were resolved under these new guidelines.
However, these new measures only marginally affected litigated claims that year due to most being lodged prior to the guidelines taking effect. The board was monitoring over 31,000 claims a year pre-Covid, slipping to a low about 18,400 in 2022 because of fewer accidents and injuries during the pandemic, before rebounding to around 22,000 in the last year.
The speaker voiced her opinion that the days of 31,000 are unlikely to be revisited unless population growth drives it. She highlighted a behavioural transformation resulting from the recalibration of the awards, leading to fewer claims for injuries with short recovery periods – such as soft tissue damages to the neck and back.
Data from the Central Bank demonstrated a significant decline of 22% in the average motor premium from its height in late 2017 to the conclusion of 2022. Yet, there was a record of a 5% rise in premiums during the year leading to February, attributed to a surge in vehicle repair expenses in the context of broader inflation.
The expanded Central Bank data, which now incorporates reports on employers’, public liability, and commercial property sectors showed that circumventing the IRB for litigation has typically not been beneficial for claimants.
In 2022, the average public liability claim settled by the IRB resulted in €21,439 in damages and €1,804 in legal fees, as per a recent Central Bank report. Conversely, the average litigated claim settled for €24,910 but incurred legal costs of €22,938.
In the last few years, insurance companies have observed that a significant number of personal injury lawsuits, which were either in progress or poised for litigation, had been stalled pending a Supreme Court judgement. This case was lodged by a female citizen of Waterford, Bridget Delaney, who contested the constitutionality of the guidelines.
The Supreme Court labelled the case as being strategically significant due to its potential to influence countless personal injury cases currently under review and many more in the future.
Most judges concurred that the Judicial Council being granted authority to establish personal injury guidelines was unconstitutional. However, their subsequent independent approval by Oireachtas through legislation rendered the guidelines legally valid.
The outcome of the current review of the guidelines, which are mandated to be re-evaluated every three years, will also necessitate legislative endorsement.
In the recent past, laws have been enacted in 2022 to augment the capacity of the PIAB (Personal Injuries Assessment Board). This initiation was undertaken keeping the Government Programme pledge in mind but, it also brings into play specific proposals from a report authored by Carroll. These laws have facilitated the successor of PIAB, renamed as the Injuries Resolution Board (IRB), to commence evaluating claims pertaining to psychological harm and to offer a conciliation service. This undertaking began in the domain of employer liability in the month of December and this month, it is extending to encompass public liability.
The fresh regulations have also been established to counter possible deceit by obligating applicants to furnish their Personal Public Service (PPS) number and to append their signature on the application form. Besides, it empowers the IRB to actively provide information on presumptive crimes to An Garda Síochána.
Carroll asserts that the legal structure, intentionally built for compensating victims who are undeservingly injured, could make strides if both the plaintiff’s attorney, insurance provider, and the IRB focus on this shared aim. She also reveals that the 20th anniversary of the institution this month was an opportunity to examine its accomplishments so far.
She shared that during their tenure, they have processed around 500,000 claim submissions and sanctioned awards worth roughly €2 billion. This endeavour is estimated to have curtailed litigation costs by approximately €1 billion.
Encouraging progress has been noted in recent times. Besides the general decline in claim submissions, up to 70% of claimants in the past couple of years have agreed to the preliminary assessment by the IRB, a significant increase from the stable 55% before the novel regulations.
In this year’s initial quarter, the acceptance rate for assessments has bounced back to around 50%, consistent with the long-term average and a significant rise from the 39% in 2021, when these guidelines were established.
Carroll, the Chief Executive of IRB, resides in Blackrock, Co Dublin with her family. At 45 years old, she is hopeful that the advancements, including the Supreme Court ruling and the introduction of the mediation service, would boost acceptance rates up to 60-70%. Additionally, she believes that being able to deal with intricate psychological cases puts them in a more favourable position.
Interestingly, Carroll shares a common affinity with many individuals who embraced the allure of sea swimming during the Covid era, and she now frequently participates in the activity. Surprisingly, her professional journey initially began in the role of a social worker. She served the Traveller community, a job she relished, and it ultimately ignited her zest for public service.