Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise two issues. Do we have figures for the number of cases that were dismissed under section 26 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004? Are they available publicly? Mr. Boland said that only one or two referred prosecutions have taken place under section 25 of the same Act. In the context of the next appointee, the Alliance for Insurance Reform recommends the establishment of a Garda insurance fraud unit. Mr. Boland said, "The Minister has told us that there is not enough support in the House for this." It was a recommendation of the group. What I am trying to get at is why there is not enough support. How have we tested that support, just as a matter of interest? I am new to this committee; I had spent the past seven years on another committee. Why is there no support? Was there a motion before the House? Was there a debate in the Dáil? How has the support of the Dáil been assessed as to whether the establishment of a Garda insurance fraud unit would pass muster? I ask Mr. Boland to elaborate on that.

Moving to the other issue I wish to raise, there is no doubt, in my experience, that people put up fierce resistance to change if money is involved. There is no doubt but that there are huge sums at stake here in the context of the legal profession, the insurance companies and other vested interests. That is a fact. The Central Bank, of course, is a prudential overseer of the insurance market and has a prudential obligation to ensure that we have a functioning insurance market. Equally, we have cases in which insurance companies went wallop and left people without any form of compensation. It is a matter of getting that balance right. Equally, other organisations come before us expressing exasperation at that fact. When Mr. Boland says that the Central Bank has prudential duties, where does he see this role? What other agency does he see as having a role as the advocate for policyholders, bearing in mind that policyholders must be protected as well when they do have a claim?