Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 18 December 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

Access to Justice and Legal Costs: Discussion (Resumed)

Mr. Gerry Hassett:

I understand that this database is going to be published every year. This is the first year that we have seen it and we are all coming to terms with the data in it. We will see it annually. Much of the debate will be about the changes from one year to another. I think that level of transparency is helpful. Typically an insurance company will price to achieve a 5% margin in a year. The reality of it is that it rarely achieves that. It will either overshoot or undershoot. The Deputy can see that it fluctuated wildly over the ten years. There were years of losses and years of profits. I accept that 2018 seems to have been a pretty profitable year. It is hoped that marks the top of a cycle and it may move in a different direction. I do not know. As the Central Bank says, it ebbs and flows.