Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I genuinely think that the industry has taken us for fools. Some of the commentary from the Central Bank in the latter part of this is in that space. I have agreed with much of the assessment. I really feel for businesses. If we look at employers' liability and public liability insurance, the cost of claims has reduced substantially since 2015. It has reduced for the last four years. The number of people who are claiming has reduced substantially for the last years. I have the figures here. There was €203 million in claims in 2015, which was down to €161 million in 2019. The number of claims reduced from 5,200 to 4,900. Public liability claims have gone down from 10,000 to 8,700. Those have reduced but the businesses are not seeing the reduction in awards. On top of that, we have slashed the awards. The awards going through PIAB have been slashed by 40%. There are legal challenges at the courts. The courts are holding firm. This was agreed in April. We are nine months on and businesses are not seeing the reduction. The Alliance for Insurance Reform is doing a survey. Nothing is happening with employers' liability and public liability insurance.

These guys are just filling their boots. The cost of awards and the number of people making claims for the insurance industry are going down. The industry's profits are going up and the only cost going up is the re-insurance. Re-insurance over the past five years has gone from 4% in the five years previous to that, to approximately 8% or 9% in the past five years, which is basically paying their mothership or parent company. It is a way for the industry to shift money and look as though it is not as healthy as it is.

This is very frustrating and where the Central Bank needs to step in. I would like to know, as I am sure businesses would, what the Central Bank will do about this? Everybody has delivered, from the Oireachtas and the Judiciary, to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, and all the rest, but the insurance companies are not delivering. A comment was made about high claim costs and litigation, but it should be remembered that litigation only makes up 3% to 4%, depending on whether one is talking employers liability or public liability that is settled in the court. Approximately 63% of cases, in one category, are settled outside the court.

The insurance companies are the ones guilty of this. They settle claims that they know, in some cases, are exaggerated or in others are bogus, but they settle them because it is easier for them. They can take the reserves they had for that claim back in profitability. It makes them and their quarterly and annual reports look good and they get more bonuses. However, who suffers? It is the people who see their premiums going up because a bogus claim was settled. We can talk about PIAB and the judgment that judges make, but they are tiny compared to what happens by the insurance industry, either on the steps of the court or settling cases because it is easier to settle than to challenge through the system.

I want to make a last point, because I know the Chair is very generous-----