F42[51L.— (1) A periodic payments order shall provide for the amount of a payment under the order to be adjusted annually by reference to an index specified in regulations made under subsection (2) (in this Part referred to as a "periodic payments index").

(2) The Minister shall, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, make regulations specifying an index for the purposes of this section and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, regulations under this section may make provision for the following matters:

(a) the specification of different indices for different goods and services in respect of which a periodic payments order may be made;

(b) a fixed percentage increase for the purposes of providing that the amount of a payment under a periodic payments order reflects the rate of inflation, including wage inflation, in the State;

(c) such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the regulations.

(3) The Minister shall, in making regulations under subsection (2), have regard to—

(a) the relevance of the goods and services on which an index is based to the loss or expenditure, including cost of care and medical expenses, for which plaintiffs who are the subject of periodic payments orders are compensated,

(b) the body calculating the index,

(c) whether or not the index is accessible at the same time or times each year, and

(d) the reliability of the index over time.

(4) The Minister shall, not more than 5 years after the coming into operation of this section, carry out a review (in this section referred to as an "initial review") of the application of the periodic payments index in order to determine the suitability of that index for the purposes of the annual adjustment of the amount of payments provided for under periodic payments orders.

(5) The Minister shall, not more than 5 years after the initial review or where he or she considers it appropriate to do so, carry out a review of the application of the periodic payments index for the purpose referred to in subsection (4).

(6) Every regulation under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House sits after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(7) The periodic payments index shall apply to an annual adjustment of the amount of a payment to be made under a periodic payments order where the annual adjustment is made on or after the date of the coming into operation of Part 3 of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023.]]