Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If the issue was as big as they say in all of their advertising, which is that it is costing everybody €50 extra on their premiums, then there would be thousands of claims reported. I have no doubt there are more than 50 fraudulent claims in the system. However, the reality is that these companies are price gouging. If we deal with fraudulent claims, if we enable the Garda enforcement action, if we are far more robust in regard to prosecution and deterring people from making fraudulent claims, I am not convinced the premiums will reduce a penny. The core of this goes back to the point that these companies where gambling, and it was not gambling with people's premiums. They were basically investing in the bond market with the premiums and when the returns fell, their profits fell. They then put up prices to cover that fall.

We need to take a very tough approach. There has been a kid-glove approach from Government, although perhaps not from the Minister of State. Some of the Minister of State's colleagues have really let him down in a number of ways recently. Unless we get clear commitments from the industry, I do not know how we can ensure that a private company which is based on profits for its shareholders is actually going to pass on any of the reductions or that any reforms introduced by the Oireachtas will benefit people.