Garda Síochána (Compensation) Act 2022

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Amendment of Act of 2003

21. (1) The Act of 2003 is amended—

(a) in section 3, by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

“(aa) subject to Part 5 of the Act of 2022, a civil action against the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána to which that Act applies,”,

(b) in section 4(1), by—

(i) the insertion of the following definition:

“‘Act of 2022’ means the Garda Síochána (Compensation) Act 2022;”,

(ii) in the definition of “civil action”, the deletion of paragraph (ii),

(iii) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “claimant”:

“‘claimant’ means a person who would, subject to this Act, be entitled to pursue a civil action to which this Act applies and includes—

(a) other than in a civil action referred to in paragraph (e), a personal representative in whom a cause of action comprising a civil action is vested by virtue of the Act of 1961,

(b) other than in a civil action referred to in paragraph (e), a person specified in subsection (3) of section 48 of the Act of 1961 who would, subject to this Act, be entitled to pursue an action for damages under that section,

(c) a person who would be entitled to act as a next friend of a minor or a person of unsound mind were a civil action to which this Act applies to be pursued on his or her behalf,

(d) the committee of a person of unsound mind acting on his or her behalf in relation to a civil action to which this Act applies that is proposed to be pursued, and

(e) for the purposes of a civil action referred to in section 3(aa), an applicant within the meaning of the Act of 2022 in relation to whom an application to the Board referred to in section 19 of that Act was made;”,

and

(iv) the insertion of the following definition:

“‘damages’ includes compensation for the purposes of civil actions referred to in section 3(aa);”,

(c) in section 20, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (5):

“(6) Notwithstanding subsections (4) and (5), the Board, when making an assessment of a claim in a civil action referred to in section 3(aa), shall take into account the following:

(a) in the case of a claim relating to personal injuries not causing death, paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 23 (3) of the Act of 2022 and section 23 (4) of the Act of 2022,

(b) in the case of a claim relating to a death, paragraphs (b) to (e) of section 23 (6) of the Act of 2022 and section 23 (7) of the Act of 2022.”,

(d) in section 21, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(3A) If the assessment is an assessment of a relevant claim relating to a civil action referred to in section 3(aa) that is being taken by or for the benefit of persons to whom section 8 (2)(b) of the Act of 2022 applies, the assessment shall specify the proportion of the amount of damages it provides for to which each of those persons is to be entitled.”,

(e) in section 30(3)—

(i) by the substitution of “matter,” for “matter, or” in paragraph (a),

(ii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

“(aa) a person referred to in section 8 (4) of the Act of 2022 is acting on behalf of a person in the matter, or”,

and

(iii) by the substitution of “guardian, person referred to in section 8 (4) of the Act of 2022 or” for “guardian or”,

(f) in section 35(1)—

(i) by the substitution of “claim,” for “claim, or” in paragraph (a),

(ii) by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (a):

“(aa) a person referred to in section 8 (4) of the Act of 2022 is acting on behalf of a person in relation to a claim,

(ab) the claim relates to a civil action referred to in section 3(aa) that is being taken by or for the benefit of persons to whom section 8 (2)(b) of the Act of 2022 applies, or”,

and

(iii) by the substitution of “and the next friend, committee, person referred to in paragraph (aa), person taking the civil action referred to in paragraph (ab), or the person proposing to bring the action for damages referred to in paragraph (b), as the case may be” for “and the next friend, committee or, as the case may be, the person proposing to bring that action for damages”,

(g) in section 45—

(i) by the substitution, in subsections (1) and (4), of “next friend, guardian, or committee of the claimant, or person referred to in section 8 (4) of the Act of 2022” for “next friend or committee of the claimant”, and

(ii) by the substitution, in subsections (2) and (4), of “next friend, guardian, person referred to in section 8 (4) of the Act of 2022 or committee in” for “next friend or committee in”,

(h) in section 46, without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) of this section—

(i) by the substitution, in subsection (1), of “this Part (including this Part as applied by section 19 of the Act of 2022)” for “this Part”, wherever it occurs,

(ii) by the substitution, in subsection (2), of “this Act (including this Act as applied by section 19 of the Act of 2022)” for “this Act”, wherever it occurs, and

(iii) by the substitution, in subsection (3), of “Except in relation to a civil action to which section 3(aa) refers, rules under” for “Rules under”,

(i) in section 54, without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) of this section, by the substitution of “this Act (including this Act as applied by section 19 of the Act of 2022)” for “this Act”, wherever it occurs, and

(j) in section 73(4)(c)(i), by the substitution of “or, other than in relation to a civil action to which section 3(aa) refers, a respondent” for “or a respondent”.

(2) A reference in the Act of 2003 to—

(a) “this Act” shall, where applicable and where the context so requires, include a reference to “this Act, as applied by section 19 of the Act of 2022”,

(b) “this Part” shall, where applicable and where the context so requires, include a reference to “this Part, as applied by section 19 of the Act of 2022”, and

(c) “this section” shall, where applicable and where the context so requires, include a reference to “this section, as applied by section 19 of the Act of 2022”.