Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 15 December 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Insurance Issues: Engagement with Insurance Companies

Mr. Tomás O'Midheach:

There are test cases under way and we have undertaken to pay all reasonable costs. There has been a judgment and we are awaiting a quantum hearing associated with that judgment. As I have said already, we have undertaken to pay reasonable costs associated with that. It is providing a test case. It has been brought by four plaintiffs. It will be applied to the 1,076 customers, as I have already articulated.

With regard to some of the other questions from the Chairman, on the consideration of the framework and the wider beneficial impacts of any decisions, we had four adverse decisions with the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, FSPO. We considered those decisions collectively. We consider them to be universally applicable. The decisions concerned inconvenience caused to the plaintiffs. We considered whether that was applicable to all publicans covered by business interruption under the framework and deemed that it was. We made a provision for €13 million and have gone about paying the 1,076 customers with regard to that FSPO judgment. We have probably paid €10 million of the €13 million out to date. We have considered the framework and we have engaged with the Central Bank. We have applied it and we have paid. I think that covers the Chairman's questions.

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