Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State said, the figures are accurate. Last year the insurance industry made a profit of €227 million. Some insurance companies did not make a profit in the previous year, but they have since made massive profits totally €250 million. I am not saying insurance companies should not be profitable. Of course, we need insurance companies that are profitable, but should they be making profits on the backs of drivers, businesses and those involved in community groups who are trying to run festivals?

No, they should not. What they are not willing to give is a commitment that if we introduce reforms, such as those contained in the Judicial Council Bill, they will reduce premiums. That is the problem. They are making these profits at a time when they are stating that claims are far too high, that there is fraudulent activity, etc. Yet, the claims were as high last year, the year before and for several years before that. Fraudulent activity has been happening forever and a day. I take a zero-tolerance position in respect of fraudulent activity and the Minister of State knows my position on it. I believe strongly that we should have a centralised Garda enforcement unit. This committee has agreed to invite the Garda Commissioner before it in order to tease out how we might look at the model he wants to deploy. Therefore, I take a zero-tolerance approach to fraudulent claims. However, what I do not fall for is the spin from the industry that fraudulent claims are the reason premiums are going up, or that it is the level of awards. A good example is that the industry only reported 50 fraudulent claims in nine months.