Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

Members on all sides of the House welcome the introduction of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board and are prepared to give it a fair chance to achieve the objective, as set out by the Tánaiste, of reducing insurance premia. There was an unexpected delay of six months in it commencing operation. We had expected that it would be in operation by 1 January.

There is considerable concern among those operating small businesses about the increasing level of premia being charged by insurance companies for employer's liability and public liability insurance. There is a levelling out of costs, but arising from the serious increase in insurance premia over the past four or five years, to the tune of 200% or 300% in many cases in many categories of business, will the Minister estimate the amount by which insurance premia are likely to reduce following the successful implementation of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board?

See this speech in context