Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is something at least. We have had many meetings where there are five different Departments or agencies all trying to solve the one problem and all coming up with a different plan instead of coming into one room and all agreeing on one plan. I cannot get my head around it. I understand the point of profit in any business, but if the insurance companies are working with the Departments and there is a plan - in fairness, they have made a commitment on the pilot project and done free booklets on extra fire prevention and so on and these are all positive - in tandem, can the companies recognise that and provide these people with a realistic quote, even as an interim measure, until we have a plan?

We are coming to the end of this year, so this would be for next year. Can it do that so those people in those homes have some security while this other issue is ongoing between Insurance Ireland and the Departments? The sad side of it is that people are running family businesses under these thatched roofs. Their business is gone without any consideration because of a technicality that this bar or that bar has changed. Is there an option for the insurers to sit down with the Department and put their hands up and say they can do X, Y and Z, but that everyone has to move to a place where they are all going to be happy? My problem is that those families have spent an awful lot of money restoring these homes of which they are proud. They are preserving our history. We saw what happened in respect of "Ryan's Daughter" and how that fell to rack and ruin when we should have held on to it. What can we do whereby we can tell these families that the insurance companies are now working with the Departments and have come up with an interim plan? The families would then have a bit of security that the insurers were going to give them a realistic quote, although I do not know what a realistic quote is. The insurers could give them a realistic quote in order that while this is ongoing, the families are safe. Then, in another year, if the insurers are still talking to the Department or if anybody is still talking to anybody, these people will have not lost their homes or the ability to keep their businesses going and we will not be back here scratching our heads and asking how that happened when we saw it coming.

Is there an interim solution? As Ms Murdock said, Insurance Ireland has 130 members providing cover for more than 25 million customers in 110 countries. That is a lot of people. There has to be profit in that. It is not making sense. It is very difficult for me to try to get my head around it. Again, I understand that it is profit. At the moment, however, we see what the Government is doing. I am on the Opposition side, but I am very straight and fair that way. I am on the Opposition side but I give credit when Ministers are doing their jobs and actually engaging with everybody on this.

I ask the witnesses to go back to the insurance companies Insurance Ireland represents and tell them we have a bad situation here. That probably will not bother them because they can cut their cloth and walk away from it. On the other side of it, however, we will all have to work together in this country regardless of what kind of insurance it is. Let us not get into the mess of what happened the last time about what I would call false advertising around fraudulent claims and the companies saying that was why the premiums were going up. It was absolute - I will not say the word but the witnesses know what I am saying. This is my frank question. Does Insurance Ireland have the authority or is it in the position to go back to the insurance companies to tell them its representatives have appeared in front of the committee and have spoken to the Ministers and that something needs to be done about this and that both sides need to be realistic and fair? Insurance Ireland obviously has a plan about what it wants. This committee's plan is that we want fairness and to see people sorted fairly. Then, whatever happens after that, I do not know what that plan is.

Is it possible that Insurance Ireland can give people outside this House assurance? We have gone around in circles on this and nobody can give us a definitive answer. This is not to be disrespectful to anybody but all we seem to get are excuses, and excuses are no good to the people who need this specific insurance. All we are getting are companies saying they could give it to people but they cannot do this or that. The new regulations are in place. Ms Murdock mentioned the duty of care. Yes, it is only a couple of months old but to me, duty of care is the common-sense approach. People should know they are responsible for their part as well and not to be taking the you-know-what. That happens as well. I will shorten it as much as I can to this line. Is it possible to do something right now, before Christmas, in the interim, to save all these families from going through the crap they are going through? Can we come in and not argue, but sit in a room together and come up with one plan that solves it?