Brendan Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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203. To ask the Minister for Finance the average cost of public liability insurance here as compared to the average cost across the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37797/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Neither my Department nor the Central Bank of Ireland maintains information on the costs of public liability insurance in Ireland. Neither do we hold information on public liability insurance costs across the European Union.

I have contacted Insurance Ireland on this matter and they stated that they do not publish statistics on the average premium level. They also stated that an average cost of public liability insurance may be misleading as it would include the costs for both SMEs and large multi-national companies.

Annual premium rates are a commercial decision for the insurance company in question. Neither I, as Minister for Finance, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, can prohibit or restrict an insurance company from changing its rates.