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ing international comparisons and in examining ideas
based upon the problem as it exists in other countries
we have been most careful to consider the relevance of
both the problem to ours and the possible solution to
our situation.
Two Examples
(a) Legal fees in the U.S. are estimated as over 35
per cent of all claim payments. In the U.S. there is the
practice of charging contingency fees which, of course,
does not apply here. It would therefore be unwise to
transpose the U.S. problem to our situation and use it
as an estimate. Only the facts of our own situation
would constitute a valid basis for any judgement.
(b) The Auditor mentioned knock for knock agree-
ments. Here again is an example of the danger of com-
paring the experiences of different countries. A good
deal of argument has taken place in Britain about this
subject and some well-informed articles have appeared
in the responsible British press. There is
The Financial
Times
article of July 1970 by John Drummond. What
may not generally be recognised, however, is that the
beneficial effects of the knock for knock agreements are
not fully experienced in the Republic because it is
estimated that fewer than 10 per cent of policyholders
have comprehensive insurance whereas the percentage
in the United Kingdom would be of the order of 70
per cent.
The "Band-Waggon Syndrome"
There is a recent phenomenon which may be termed
the "band-wagon syndrome". This is the disposition to
which many Irish people faced with problems in the
economic and business life, the disposition which they
seem to have to jump on the band-wagon of any new
idea which may come from abroad. I instance for
example the latest management technique, whatever it
may be or as another instance you can take the case of
our union structure which is entirely based on the
United Kingdom model. This band-wagon syndrome,
however, has an additional feature in that with unerring
judgement we leap onto the band-wagon just at the
point of time when it is about to fall apart and when
those who created it and set it rolling have already long
since departed to set up another band-wagon some-
where else. Now this is a phenomenon to which we tend
to be addicted and it is one which we must be very
careful to avoid if we are to make a solution to our
problems not just relevant for the moment and in the
shortest of short terms but on a lasting basis which will
have relevance to our position, status and our relation-
ships with the public in the long-term future. In this
regard, of course, we pay particular attention to the
European situation and we have given careful consid-
eration and examination to the European aspects of this
problem. We are also conscious of the fact that a com-
mittee of experts appointed by the Council of Europe
has already reported to the European Committee on
Legal Co-operation. On the subject of civil liability of
motorists,
I.amnot in a position to quote from this
document which has at the present moment a restricted
circulation.
I can assure you that alternative solutions are being
objectively and totally dispassionately considered with
the sole criterion the ultimate good on a long-term basis
of the insuring public. I regret I cannot elaborate on
the points I have made in any greater detail because of
the obvious confidentiality of the work in which we
are engaged.
Motorists were urged by a Dublin law professor last
night to read their conditions of insurance very carefully
and especially to see that passenger coverage was ade-
quate to meet all contingencies.
A ceiling of a couple of thousand pounds would not
go near meeting the damages of a passenger who hap-
pened to be a highly successful professional person,
said
Professor R.
F. V.
Heuston,
Regius Professor of
Law, Dublin University.
Professor Heuston said that the record award in Irish
Courts—£87,400 in 1960 for a solicitor injured in a car
accident—exceeded the highest made in English courts
by about £10,000. This largely was due to two factors,
the practice here of trying such cases by jury and the
fact that we had no national health service. Thus, insur-
ance companies had to look after badly-injured people,
whereas in England this was thrown open to the com-
munity at large.
Since 1961, he added, thirteen insurance companies
in England had failed. This meant that one in ten
English motorists had found himself at some stage
uninsured. The reason they were driven to such com-
panies was probably that they had been turned down
by the more reputable companies.
Dead murderer not to be named
An inquest jury at Hertford last night said that a dead
man was the murderer of Nicola Brazier, twenty, who
was found bound and shot through the head in a Hert-
fordshire wood last September. But his identity will
never be known to anyone but his family and the police.
The coroner, Mr. James Bolton, ruled that public
interest did not require him to name the man, referred
to as Mr. X, or authorise that he should be named.
He had taken into account the misery that naming
him would inevitably bring to his family, friends and
many other people.
Against that he had to consider the possible advan-
tage in the public interest of naming the man. Police
had questioned a large number of people and suspicion
had fallen on a number of them.
WJien the jury returned the murder verdict after a
seventeen-minute absence, Mr. Bolton asked the fore-
man if they wanted anyone to be charged with the
murder. The foreman replied: "The person referred to
as Mr. X."
Earlier, Mr. Rowland Lee, representing the Chief
Constable of Hertfordshire, said the identity of Miss
Brazier's killer had been "very closely known" to the
police for a long time.
"The girl was most thoroughly murdered, and X
was the murderer," he said.
In view of the amount of work the police had done,
the temptation to name him had been very great. But a
great deal of harm would have been done to relatives
and associates.
The Daily Telegraph
(22nd April 1971)
50