Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to make my contribution in a climate where we can talk about this topic. I acknowledge the fact that premiums have gone down, but we are still hearing from people who are having issues with them. The Minister of State is well aware of that. The debate on the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017 currently going through the Seanad is being dominated by two individuals. That happens in the Dáil as well. The second Bill could have been brought through the Dáil initially, rather than the Seanad.

To get down to brass tacks, the biggest issue we face in terms of insurance is lack of transparency. I acknowledge the work the Minister of State has done, but I want to talk about facts. I want to know how the Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Bill 2018 will improve transparency. Who will control the database? Who will have access to it? What information will be in it? Insurance companies repeatedly go through peaks and troughs. Nobody seems to know what profits those companies are earning or the make-up of the premiums they are providing. I want to know precisely what the Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Bill 2018 will do. Everyone wants to work to get this through. What will be in the Bill? Who will own the database? What information will be in it? How quickly will it be up and running? Will the public have access to it? Outside of claims, what will bring premiums down will be utter transparency around them.

Many members of the public believe it is not worth their while shopping around. Many are elderly and only use their local broker.

Their broker is supposed to get them the best value for money. In fairness, most of them do a good job. Will the Minister of State talk to us about the Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Bill 2018?