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

Data are the key to understanding everything, including the claims resolution process in the 70% of cases we cannot see. Data are also crucial to understanding how insurance companies are operating themselves, as well as being essential to consumers understanding exactly how their insurance premiums are priced. Data are also necessary to check fraud and cut out uninsured driving by introducing transparency around that. We must bring our insurance sector out of the stone age, which I feel it is in given some of the engagements I have had, and make the market grow up. That is the key to attracting other entrants in to ensure we have a healthy and competitive market.

I cannot and will not speak for the Central Bank. I saw a transcript of what its representatives said when they appeared before this committee. The Central Bank sits on my working group and we have spoken on data issues in the sub-group with the different actors that have come in. As regards its prudential function, the Central Bank would have flagged that matter with the working group if it had an issue with it. We are looking at various data concerning fraud which affects extra premium costs. Up to this point, the insurance industry has been trying to manage those data itself and build a database to be shared between the industry. That is not happening quickly enough, however. In addition, I do not like the idea of them managing the data. That is because from a public interest viewpoint the data should be managed independently by a State agency. There is a recommendation in the committee's report on who should collect, handle and manage that information.

We will need the committee's support in determining that body. Not everyone is seeking to do this work. In our various engagements to date, we have seen some reluctance. We all need to work together to settle on what the right agency or body is to manage these data and get the right data sets. Doing this quickly will be important.