Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I met the CEOs of the insurance companies and representatives of Insurance Ireland prior to the judgment to talk about options in light of what the outcome might be. I met one insurance CEO since the judgment was delivered. From the work the committee did last year and from the cost of insurance working group report, the Deputy is aware of the massive uncertainty created by the initial Setanta judgment - and the successful judgment when it was appealed initially - in terms of possible outstanding liabilities in the event of other company failures. He is also aware of what that meant for insurance companies, of the amounts they had to place in reserve as a result and of how difficult it became for new entrants to come into the market and compete. In short, what happened made the Irish market less attractive. Now that we have the judgment, the removal of that uncertainty should help to reduce premiums in the short to medium term because, as the Deputy put it, the insurance industry has won and no longer faces the uncertainty in the context of what it needs to reserve in order to cover potential future claims relating to insolvent companies. It should have a positive impact on motor insurance premiums.