It's what we do. It's all we do.

At least 80% of claims received by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) are from solicitors, more than two years after it announcement that it was a "lawyer-free zone."

The PIAB was set up to reduce insurance premiums by cutting litigation costs in cases where liability is not in dispute. It says that the cost of its process is 10% of every award. This is in stark contrast to figures released by the Motor Insurance Advisory Board, which stated that in 2004, 46% of award payments went on litigation costs.

According to the PIAB, people pay up to four times more if they go to court. Many claimants dispensed with legal representation after speaking to the board.

The Irish High Court has seen a reduction in personal injury claims lodged from 2004 to 2005. PIAB is now processing 10,000 cases out of 15,500 applications, and awards have been made in 520 cases

Following a claim by one PIAB applicant, Declan O'Brien, that his right to legal representation was being contravened, the High Court ruled in January that it should not correspond directly with claimants who have solicitors. O'Brien claimed that the PIAB's refusal to deal with his solicitor breached his constituational right to legal representation. Previously, the PIAB copied a claimant's solicitor in on correspondence and communicated directly with the claimant. The PIAB has lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court.

The PIAB said: "We now know that approximately 80% of applications are represented by solicitors and 20% are not, and of the judgments that are accepted that figure remains the same. There are people out there who are accepting our awards and yet incurring fees from a solicitor. We're not allowed to include lawyers' fees in our settlements."

It claims that the process is four times cheaper than if people go to court. In 2004, just under Ä1 billion was paid out in compensation with litigation costs of over Ä400m being incurred.

A spokeswoman for the Board said: "When PIAB was first set up we were able to respond to the complainant directly and copy their solicitor in on correspondence, but since a judicial review last January, we can't. Now when a solicitor is involved we can only communicate with them, leaving the claimant out of the loop.

"We always dealt with solicitors but now when a solicitor is involved a claimant cannot receive correspondence until the very end of the process when we recommend an award. We are appealing the decision at the moment."

Representing the Law Society, Ken Murphy said those who use solicitors get higher awards. "Every case that goes before the PIAB may end up in the Circuit or High Court. Either side can reject it and the claimant who has not had the advice of a solicitor from the beginning compromises their position in relation to their ability to prove their case before a court at a later stage."

The Law Society has claimed that the PIAB's policy of distinguishing between those they view as vulnerable and those who were not leads to inequality.

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