Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We all sat in this committee and we did a report on the insurance industry and the Minister brought forward his own report; would he not admit that it is simply not working? The insurance industry is rolling him over on the recommendations and as this is happening, people out there whether they are motorists, consumers, business people and those involved in the agricultural sector in marts and other areas are paying astronomical insurance premiums as a result. They are being fleeced by what is being described in Europe and indeed here by cartel-like activities. That is not a stretch of the imagination. We are aware that certain sectors of this industry were subject to dawn raids by European authorities working hand-in-glove with our own authorities.

On some of the recommendations that he is to oversee and implement, for example, the insurance industry was asked to display the reasons for their large increases last year which the Minister agreed in a protocol. Now he is telling us that following a review by the Department, insurers have been asked to ensure that this information is displayed more prominently on their websites so that that it is accessible and visible for consumers and the Department is going to continue to monitor it. The insurers were to provide additional information on premium breakdowns to customers. This was a key recommendation of the Oireachtas committee and the Minister is telling us now that there is consultation under way. This is the second round of consultation. We know in the first consultation, the insurance industry complained about costs and making things complicated. These are recommendations numbers 1 and 2. They are simply not going anywhere.

If we look at recommendation number 3, to extend the current renewal notification from 15 to 20 working days, this has been blocked by the insurance sector complaining about it.