Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State has been at this for a good while and it has been a priority for him within the Department. If we were to ask people out and about whether they have seen any reasonable progress in this area, they would probably answer they have not. They would tell us they still see premiums increasing. Indeed, we had a men's shed group before the committee last week. The representatives adverted to the potential threat to their existence in some areas where the number of members is small. This arises because of several factors, including insurance. I had raised the mart sector with the Minister of State on the floor of the Dáil previously but when appearing before the committee, the representatives of the sector stated clearly that if they experience anything close to what they have experienced in the past three years, marts will close down with all the associated effects. We heard from other community groups about how the cost of insurance is increasing and taking up a large proportion of core costs.

We know about all the reforms proposed. The Minister of State referred to the percentage implemented. How come we are not seeing significant decreases in the cost of insurance?