Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are very happy with where it is now.

I wish to raise one issue I would like the CSO to examine, that is, the compilation of statistics for business insurance premiums. The CSO produces motor insurance premium changes on a monthly basis. That is very useful in terms of informing public policy decisions and has fed into the cost of insurance working group and so on but we do not have comparable data for the cost of insurance, not just to businesses but to voluntary bodies, sporting clubs and community organisations. It is an area I would like the CSO to examine to ascertain whether it could start compiling statistics on the cost of insurance. It may well compile such data on an aggregate basis but I mean in a way whereby it could be broken down in order that we could see the anecdotal evidence we are hearing from businesses about public liability and employment liability. Is that coming through by way of the overall statistics? I do not expect an answer here and now from the Minister of State but if the CSO could examine that to see if it was possible to start compiling and reporting that on a monthly basis, it would be very useful in terms of public policy.