Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Is there an understanding in the industry that there has been an increase in accidents, claims or events that cause insurance companies' costs to rise? It has become evident from our deliberations up to now that everybody feels our vehicles are getting older and that we, as drivers, are getting older and more experienced, yet all our premiums are increasing. There is no change in the driving culture. The roads and motorways have not deteriorated to such an extent that far more claims are being made. The witnesses are of the view that insurance companies are operating - in the words of other members, with which Ms Murphy agreed - in a cartel-like manner. They are basically saying they are going to get together and hike their charges and customers will have to suck it up or else, in Ms Murphy's industry's case, possibly go abroad. To tease out that point a little, Ms Murphy is saying that we lose €250,000 for every truck that leaves the jurisdiction. Is she saying that if a company relocates to Bulgaria or Poland, it hires Bulgarian people at Bulgarian wages and they drive to Ireland, rather than the other way around, so that all the jobs in Ireland are lost or is it the payroll taxes that are lost? How does that work?