Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Senator is right to say that the State must not be a neutral actor in this. The State must intervene to protect consumers as well as protecting the insurance market. We need reform across a lot of areas. As the Chair also said, there is no silver bullet policy issue here. There is a range of complex policy responses that need to be taken. That is what our emerging recommendations, and the committee's report, speak to. Reforms have taken place arising from the financial crisis, including the introduction of solvency measures, that prevent some super-cycle trends from happening in future. One of the first things we must do, however, is stabilise the current spike in premiums that people have witnessed particularly over the last 12 months. I hope we will be able to give a strong message to all aspects of the market in our recommendations and timelines. That is the feedback I have received in some of those areas.

Once the recommendations begin to work their way through I would expect to see premiums come down. Insurance companies may tell me they are adding €50 to the cost of every premium due to fraud, but we will publish ambitious and radical ideas on fraud. These include a fraud database to be shared not just between the Garda Síochána and insurance industry, but also potentially with the courts. Technology to automatically detect number plates will also be used to detect uninsured drivers and other behaviour. As those type of actions are implemented they will no longer justify an additional €50 increase on a premium. Whiplash claims add €130 to premium costs while uninsured drivers add €35. As our recommendations work their way through, the industry will no longer be able to make a defence for loading premiums in such areas. I hope our recommendations will bring about changes in behaviour in each aspect of the market. That is what we are all working towards.