The employer's lobby group, IBEC, and the Law Society have engaged in a bruising battle over where the blame lies for the rise in the cost of personal injuries claims.

IBEC claims the growing compensation culture in the Republic is threatening to cripple industry, with the bill for personal injuries set to spiral to £5 billion over the next five years. It claims this is due in part to "spurious" claims, for which the group largely blames those solicitors who advertise their services.

Not surprisingly, the Law Society was quick to reply, throwing the ball firmly back into IBEC's court by placing the blame for the rise in claims squarely at the door of a "negligence culture", not a compensation culture.

It insists that the fault lies with business's failure to adequately address the issue of health and safety at work and points to Health and Safety Authority figures which record a 25 per cent increase in the number of accidents at work. Methinks IBEC might regret taking on the power of the legal practitioners.