Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms Kane and Mr. Gilvarry and I thank Mr. Gilvarry for his detailed presentation.

The side of it I would be interested in is in the context of the 2021 report. The SMEs highlighted three costs in particular which are very challenging for the sector, namely, the insurance costs, legal costs and the cost of credit. Stating the obvious, the insurance firms pass on the costs of the legal bills to consumers. That is an issue. The report also states that new personal injury guidelines on award levels should be assessed and monitored. Naturally, that needs to be done. From my point of view, I wonder whether the council has a view on the guidelines as written. If they are implemented, is the council of the view that this will make a real impact in terms of reducing the cost of legal bills for insurance firms? If that is the case, it should result, I would hope, in significantly reduced premiums for SMEs. I would welcome Mr. Gilvarry's thoughts on that.