Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Let me say this. If I was in the Minister's seat, I would not have let the last year and a half pass without meeting a single insurance company or Insurance Ireland about business interruption. I would not have allowed that to happen. I would have asked them directly why their companies are taking some of our pandemic payments here when they are not taking them in the North, in Wales, in Scotland or in England. I would ask those questions. I would say to them that they need to hand that money back or, otherwise, we will bring in a pandemic surcharge only on that money in order to get that money back for the State. That money was given to those companies to keep other companies afloat. In fairness to the companies, they are not saying they want cover from the insurance provider and from the State. They are saying the money should go back to the State. The Minister is just taking a hands-off approach here, and that is the problem. A year and a half later, asking for a report that is going to be delivered next year on how much money they took is a joke. I have made my mind up on that. It is a joke. It is a waste of this committee's time. I am sure that if the Minister wrote to the Central Bank, it would give him that information. Having to go through five Stages of legislation in the Dáil and another five Stages in the Seanad for that is a joke and a waste of our time. Does the Minister want the insurance companies to hand this money back? I ask him that simple question.