Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

We do not have a sunset clause because some insurance claims take a long time to settle. Sometimes people must wait for medical evidence or to see how injuries develop before a claim can be finalised. A sunset clause would be unfair to policyholders who have claims pending. The intention is that claims shall run out over a period of ten years and tail off as that period comes to an end. It is hard to be definitive about this because it is difficult to estimate in advance the amount of an award that might be made in four or five years time. That is the only reason. The best estimate of actuaries is that it will come in around the figure I have mentioned.

Under the legislation, the levy cannot be more than 2%. It can be varied if the money is not required as we come to the back end of the period. The Central Bank will advise on the adequacy of the provisioning in the Insurance Compensation Fund. If circumstances arose where it was reasonable to reduce the levy to, say, 1% that could be done.

With regard to medical insurance and the VHI, I did what Ministers always do. I will not tie the hands of any successor. However, the Government has no plan to extend the levy to health insurance. The reason for excluding health insurance is not only to avoid making an imposition on people who are finding it hard to pay premiums. The primary reason is that health insurance is in a different legal space from car, house or travel insurance. It is not controlled by the Central Bank and is outside the scope of the normal insurance regulatory regime. It is excluded for that reason. There are other exclusions which we will speak about when we come to that section.

I think the Deputy asked me something else.

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