Mr. Peter Boland:

I will wheel through the questions in reverse order, if I may. In response to Senator Paddy Burke, the pace of reform in this area is not fast enough. I used the example of the last time we had a crisis in this area in 2002 and 2003, when all of the legislation and actions to address it were done and dusted within two and a half years. We are nowhere near that timeframe this time around. In very practical terms, what politicians can do to speed things up is get the Judicial Council Bill through the Houses as quickly as possible. They can also exert political pressure to get the Garda insurance fraud unit up and running and this committee can hold the insurers to account in terms of what they are going to do to make sure that premiums go down.

I would respond to Deputy Eugene Murphy's question on the book of quantum by going back to what the Minister and the insurance industry have said constantly, namely, that claims drive costs. That is the insurance industry's analysis of this problem so if the book of quantum can be resolved, that sorts the claims issue. Certainly from our point of view, we would then regard the insurance industry as being under an obligation to respond with reduced insurance costs. The Deputy's story about the hotel is one which is very familiar. What happened there is happening all over the country. In terms of why it happens, we are mystified and it is absolutely a question for the insurers.

In response to Senator Horkan, as I understand it an announcement on the Garda insurance fraud unit is imminent. We would ask why it has taken so long to get to this point because it is our understanding that An Garda Síochána has been ready internally for this for quite some time. We are awaiting a decision on that but there is an opportunity to apply political pressure. We are told that it is a decision for An Garda Síochána but surely the Government has a role to play in terms of expressing the desire of the State to have a Garda insurance fraud unit in place.

As the legislation currently stands, the book of quantum can only be revised through the history of awards over the previous two to three years. However, the Judicial Council Bill will give the power to reduce downwards, regardless of awards history. That is what we are expecting the Judiciary to do; we need judges to step up to the mark on behalf of society. In terms of health and safety, I would suggest that this country is the health and safety nation Our colleagues from Europe and further afield are gobsmacked at the level to which health and safety is acknowledged and enforced in this country. It is time for the insurers to respect that in terms of the premiums being paid.

The national claims information database is a partial solution to transparency. When the first report is released towards the end of this year, I suspect that it will be very unsatisfactory because it will be a first look, it will refer only to motor insurance, and there are no firm plans to examine liability.

To respond to the question on insurers, I reiterate that FBD and the broader insurance industry should be asked what they will do for policyholders in the light of the improvement in their financial position and the forecast additional improvement.

Deputy Burton referred to Northern Ireland. I suspect that the UK, and Northern Ireland in particular, has its own problems in this area. While the UK is by no means the ideal, as Mr. McDonnell noted, it is regarded by the rest of Europe as an insurance outlier. I would not, therefore, necessarily consider Northern Ireland to be a role model in this area, not least because there may be complications arising from Brexit. I would prefer if we got our own house in order at this stage and there is a fairly well-defined roadmap in that regard.

On healthcare and early intervention on injuries, much has been done to try to achieve that but the problem is being caused by general damages, which are paid for pain and suffering, rather than special damages, which cover medical care and loss of earnings. The general damage for the pain and suffering of the original incident is the problem, which is why the solutions we have proposed are in place.