Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. The last speaker finished his contribution by speaking on the need for a Government. Deputy Mattie McGrath, in an earlier contribution, bemoaned the vacuum caused by the absence of a Government and noted the need for certain Deputies in the House to show leadership.

I could not agree more with Deputy Mattie McGrath. He and his Independent colleagues have had an opportunity to show that leadership many times over the past seven weeks. In fact, on three occasions he had the opportunity to show that leadership and baulked at each one. The people are becoming frustrated, anxious and concerned about the slow progress that is being made.

It is not good enough to come to the House to make statements. This morning we had statements on the health service. While I did not contribute to the debate, I do not imagine many positive contributions on the state of the current health service were made. We are making further contributions on another issue that is causing major worry and anxiety to the people we are fortunate enough to have been elected to represent.

The outgoing Government turned a blind eye to the insurance industry over recent years, which is alarming. Today, The Irish Timespublished an article on the lack of Government action on the pressure on premiums caused by the €90 million collapse of the Setanta insurance business two years ago. It referred to the lack of action by the Government on the issue over recent years. Given that the Government has not prioritised the issue, it is little wonder that the percentage increase in motor insurance has been 50% since 2011.

Many young people are trying to start off in life. They buy cars and want to go to work, but the biggest impediment if they do get a job is how they will be able to afford to run their cars. I bought my first car in the late 1990s or early 2000s. The cost of insuring it was £3,000, while the car cost £2,900. Back then, the Government established the Motor Insurance Advisory Board. As a consequence, there was a genuine reduction in the cost of insurance in subsequent years. There is no point in people making statements in the House if nobody will listen.

There is an urgent need to re-establish the Motor Insurance Advisory Board. We need to examine how such a board will work. We also need to ensure we have full transparency and that exaggerated claims are tackled. Previous Governments did a lot of work on preventative methods, such as the introduction of penalty points, random breath testing and rigorous enforcement of road safety by An Garda Síochána. Unfortunately, in recent years gardaí have not been able to maintain their previous presence on the roads. We need to ensure such preventative measures are reintroduced. I appeal to the Minister of State to reconstitute the advisory board immediately with a view to review reducing the cost of premiums for hard-pressed people.

Another area on which I want to focus is flood insurance cover. I met the Minister of State in Athlone. He saw at first hand there and in many other areas the devastating impact of flooding during last winter. Flooding is a major issue, but the major concern is how people will repair and restore their homes when the floods recede. Major flooding originally occurred in 2009, and since then hundreds of families in Athlone - I am being parochial in regard to Athlone - were not able to avail of house insurance.

The one fortunate thing about the configuration of the current Dáil is that the Government will have to start listening to the Opposition and taking its proposals on board. Earlier this year, we published the Flood Insurance Bill, following extensive consultation with the Irish National Flood Forum, because we wanted to tackle the key aspects of this issue. In essence, the Bill provides that where the OPW has completed a flood relief scheme to the required European standard or where the flooding risk has been deemed to be extremely low by the OPW, an insurance company must offer flood insurance at a price that can be reasonably justified by the current risk profile associated with the property. The Bill sets out the respective roles of the Financial Services Ombudsman and the Central Bank to ensure that the purposes of the Bill are implemented.

Just because an Opposition party proposes something does not necessarily make it a bad proposal.

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