Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As this is a very technical Bill, I will not take up too much time. This Bill has had to be introduced on foot of the ruling by the European Court of Justice that the derogation in the EU gender directive that allows gender to be used as a risk factor in determining insurance costs is illegal. While we are on the matter of European courts, I would like to mention briefly that it is a shame the Government does not seem to hold the European Court of Human Rights in the same regard. I assume that is why it has not legislated for the X case as required by the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of A, B and C v. Ireland. There is a point to be made here about the role of statistical evidence about risk factors when the price of insurance is being determined. Insurance premiums are based on risk factors. In general, women receive lower premiums as there is a lower risk attached to them. Geographical location is a further risk assessment factor. Insurance costs are much higher in some parts of the country than in others because a higher proportion of road traffic accidents takes place in such locations. My concern about this Bill is that it will not result in lower insurance premiums for male drivers, but higher premiums for female drivers. While it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender, I am aware of some insurance companies in Britain that have introduced interesting initiatives to ensure women are not unfairly penalised in their insurance claims. Some insurance companies in Britain are offering discounts for young driver schemes, as well as safe driver schemes in which premiums are reduced for both genders where there is a demonstrable record of safety over a period of time. I hope insurance companies here will do the same.

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