Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Can the Central Bank say that if there are adequate reserves in a particular insurance company, there is no justifiable reason it should pass this 2% on? It is the sense of fairness. Someone looking in from the outside sees €870 million, which is not too far off €1 billion, in debt placed on the shoulders of hard-pressed people who are trying to cover rising insurance costs. According to the latest returns, insurance companies are making serious money. That person will therefore ask why there is a 2% levy - in essence a 4% levy - being placed on those people for companies which are making incredible levels of profit. Everything is about fairness. We need an insurance industry that is solvent and profitable but we also need one which is competitive and does not fleece the market. The ordinary person is looking in and sees that there is nearly €1 billion in debt which he or she is being asked to repay through a 2% levy that is passed on directly. He or she also sees that there is a 2% levy coming on the new MIBI for the next four or five years which will more than likely be passed on as well. That person will ask what can be done where companies making enormous profits with healthy reserves to prevent them passing on the 2% on the MIBI for the next four or five years.