Ms Patricia Byron has been appointed the chief executive designate of the long-awaited Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB).
Making the appointment today, the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, said the appointment which takes effect from February 1st, will contribute to cheaper insurance and is a further sign of reform within the industry.
She said litigation costs and the slow pace of settling personal injury claims would be addressed by the board.
The legislation to give the board its powers is due in the coming weeks and it is expected to start hearing cases in the first half of the year after staff have been recruited.
The business community in particular has been campaigning for lower insurance costs and has said many companies have had to lay off staff and in some cases close because of high premiums.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform (AIR) today welcomed the appointment. Chairman Mr Gerard McCaughey said he looked forward to the speedier settlement of uncontested personal injury claims.
However, he said insurance reform was behind the schedule. The PIAB has not yet commenced and the Civil Liabilities Bill had not been published, he said.
"Insurance companies continue in their disingenuous public relations campaign, highlighting 5 - 10 per cent reductions in motor insurance premiums, while taking 100 - 200 per cent increases in business insurance from Irish businesses. This is twisting the truth and affecting the overall competitiveness of the Irish economy," McCaughey said.
Ms Byron has worked in the insurance industry for over 20 years, and was the first female loss adjuster in the country in 1985 and the first female president of the Insurance Institute of Dublin in 1994.
She has chaired a reform programme within the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland.