Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Former Justice Nicholas Kearns's analysis was that average compensation for whiplash in Ireland is 4.4 times that in Britain. The Department's analysis indicates compensation in Ireland ranges between three and 5.5 times that in Britain. Last week the PIAB analysis said that awards in Ireland are five times those in Britain. If somebody is getting the equivalent of €5,000 in the UK, they are getting €25,000 here, tax free. It is very lucrative even for the best of people who have been impacted who, through no fault of their own, will pursue a case because the book of quantum is at the level of threshold it is at. That is why this market is not competitive. That is why there are not 15 or 20 insurers in this market.

I am not here protecting the insurance companies. On every occasion it comes to my attention that there is an issue, I bring them in and put the hard line to them. The latest occasion was about cars over ten years old. The previous occasion to that was about how insurance companies are dealing with their clients following Storms Ophelia and Emma. Consumer protection is high in my threshold for the job that I do in insurance. Make no mistake about that.