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

Everything we are doing is aimed at reducing premia. In terms of motor insurance, we are down 23% since the peak, according to the CSO. This will be a very important aspect of further reducing premia. The Deputy asked me how I know about the awards. We have benchmarked awards in Ireland through the report of the Personal Injuries Commission chaired by Mr. Justice Nicholas Kearns. On average, a soft tissue award in Ireland is 4.4 times greater than elsewhere, so if a person gets €10,000 in the UK, he or she will get €44,000 here. This is not an attractive jurisdiction for insurance companies. How do I know that? Quite a few of them have left. They have left because the sector is expensive, the awards are high and many of those companies were not profitable. It is very easy for them to move their capital and go to another jurisdiction where things are better operationally. This is important legislation to get through the Houses.

According to Mr. Justice Kearns, the recalibration should be undertaken by the judicial council when it is established. I met the Minister for Justice and Equality and the expectation is that all of that will be concluded - the legislation for the establishment of the judicial council, the establishment of the council and the work on recalibrating the book of quantum, which will reduce the awards. This is when we will see a further decrease in premia. That is the objective of everybody in this room.