Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I understand what Mr. Brennan is saying about who is at fault here. Of course, the very nature of business interruption cover is that it sets out the various types of interruptions. It does not necessarily attribute blame from what I understand of the cover. His argument is very much that insurance companies should be entitled to be subsidised by the State because it was not their fault and it was somebody else's fault. The practice of insurance companies pocketing the payments made by the State has gone on for years in personal injury cases. Millions of euro were made by insurance companies until legislation was passed in 2013 and enacted in August 2014, which led to having the statement of recoverable benefit and the need to reimburse the Department of Social Protection.

I am not convinced by Mr. Brennan's argument that his insurance company deserves a subsidy because it is not the company's fault or the client's fault, but somebody else's fault. It is an act of God so to speak.