Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Is it necessary to have employer's liability insurance of €12.7 million, public liability insurance of €6.5 million and environmental indemnity of €2 million if I were providing training for my local school? The reason I raise this is because I have come across situations in which people have been providing management consultancy services and have been asked for public liability insurance of €6.5 million. Does Mr. Quinn know how much it costs to procure public liability insurance of €6.5 million?

I know from reading the guidance notes that those tendering for business have to be able to get the insurance, without having to have it in place at the time they apply for the tender. I know this to be the case because I have been approached on this point by people in my constituency who say they would not apply for a tender which they would be able to perform because as, say, a two-person company they would not be able to afford the cost of public liability insurance of €6.5 million or €12.7 million. Unless I am losing the plot, although I do not think so, those levels of public liability insurance are outrageous. What is the logic of it? For the sake of argument, let us suppose I am providing arts and crafts material to the local school then under the public procurements requirement I am required to have this level of public liability insurance. That does not make sense.

In respect of professional indemnity, I am aware of contracts below the value of €50,000 that have been put out to tender which required professional indemnity insurance of €3.6 million. It is stated in the documentation that the level of insurance must be proportionate to the job that is being done, that the level of turnover has to be related to the contract. I was very pleased initially to see this but when I read the conditions on the back page they made no sense.