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

The Central Bank is responsible for this action and there are a number of changes to be made by the Central Bank. It is progressing this as one. We must go through due process and there must be public consultation on the changes. There are certain timelines already in place that must be followed. I believe this is a good thing to do but it is by no means the most important thing we have to do. The Senator may have heard, as I have heard, that when people have shopped around in the two-week renewal notification period they currently have, they have obtained a reduction compared with the first quote they received. There is competition in the market and people are getting lower premiums if they shop around. We want to extend that period to give them a bit more time. We know that people are very busy and sometimes they might not pay attention to the letter when it comes in the post during the first week of that period and suddenly they find they are up against the deadline for renewal. This gives them just a little bit more space. These are, however, the timelines that are currently there and due process must be followed and a consultation.