Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)

I apologise that I had to leave the meeting to speak in the Chamber. I could not agree more with Mr. Jennings. I sat on the finance committee when I was a Senator, in 2016 or 2018, and we went through the issues with the insurance companies week after week. They said they needed this, that and the other to be done, all of which was done. Yet, the prices are the way they are. There must be accountability for this because it is absolutely scandalous. The companies are obliged, since we introduced our recommendations, to show information for the year, so people can see on their bill the detail for 2020, 2021, 2022 and so on. It is absolutely frightening that the companies have not passed on reductions.

I have two questions on insurance, the first of which is about the barriers to entry to the liability insurance market for new providers. What can be done to dismantle those barriers? We need to bring other insurance companies into the market to create more competition.

Second, it is extraordinary that despite the 40% fall in overall claim volumes between 2019 and 2023, businesses with strong safety records are not rewarded with lower premiums. There is no excuse for that. We know a reward for good behaviour is one of the best incentives for risk management and prevention. When people feel their actions can influence the price being charged, that manifests in better behaviour. What more can be done to incentivise or make insurance providers implement genuine and truthful risk-based pricing?