A personal injuries committee made up of judges has been selected to examine insurance compensation levels in Ireland.
The announcement was made this morning by Chief Justice Frank Clarke at an insurance fraud conference in Dublin.
It comes amid ongoing criticism over the level of compensation payouts in Ireland.
Mr Justice Clarke said the committee will get to work straight away, despite not being formally established by law.
He explained: "One of the issues that they will have to consider is bench-marking Irish damages by reference to other comparable countries - not just the UK, but other countries as well.
"If they were to wait until they are formally established before commencing that process, that would take time.
"But there's no reason why the process of putting in place that research cannot start straight away."
Concerns have been raised in recent years about the levels of compensation and damages awarded here, as well as the cost of insurance.
Small and medium businesses have previously highlighted the difficulty of obtaining public liability insurance due to the spiralling costs.
Michael D'Arcy, the Minister of State with responsibility for insurance, has previously suggested high insurance payouts are fostering a "litigious nature" among Irish people.
