Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. They are a bit of fresh air in terms of some of the discussion we have heard. I agree with the analysis that there is quite an extensive propaganda war going on by the insurance industry. It has actually been quite successful and is reflected in some of the contributions we have had from people who are also victims. The two buzzwords used to explain the biggest causes of the massive hike in premiums we are seeing are "fraud" and "whiplash", which are interrelated terms and obviously serve the interests of the insurance company. The most important thing that we, as a committee, and the Government need to decide on are what the key causes of the increase in premiums are. Then we can devise a solution. For example, the care not cash model fits into the narrative of fraud and whiplash as opposed to the narrative of massive profits. That is the point: it reinforces that narrative.

The most important question I would ask the Bar Council and the Law Society is whether they think it is fair to say on the basis of the limited information that they have - I know it is limited; that is part of the point - that the primary reason for the significant increase in costs to drivers that we have seen is an attempt by the insurance companies to restore profits.