Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister for Finance on his reappointment and my namesake, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, on his appointment as Minister of State. I get his post sometimes because there is a bit of confusion. I wish him well. I welcome Deputy Michael McGrath's motion because it is extremely important. It is one of the most critical issues we must deal with. We can keep going over the figures but the facts are the facts. The quoted average increase of 30% is incorrect. I have come across situations where the increase in the quote has been over 50%, and in one or two cases premiums have risen by between 200% and 400%. I can provide evidence of this.

We need to bring back something like the Motor Insurance Advisory Board, which was established by a Fianna Fáil Government in the mid-1990s. Unfortunately, it was abolished by the previous Government in 2013. There is no doubt it controlled prices to a degree and kept an eye on the business. Not only is the ridiculous quote system leading to undue pressure and financial strain, it is keeping people from returning to work. Even this weekend, I was approached by numerous young people in respect of this matter. They want to take up employment but they simply cannot afford a car. Many parts of rural Ireland do not have the public transport system found in urban areas, so it is major issue in rural Ireland. If people have to travel 15, 20 or 30 miles for their first job and they do not have transport, they cannot take up the offer.

The inflated quotes and premiums for young drivers are discriminatory. We introduced a rigid system in recent years for people who must get their driving licence, and rightly so. They must undergo a theory test, take a certain number of driving lessons and undertake what I call the grand finale. However, when they go to insure their cars, they are being quoted these massive prices for insurance cover, yet they have committed no offence. This is why I think it is utterly discriminatory.

There are many hardship cases, as Deputy Calleary pointed out. I was recently approached by a taxi driver in a rural area of my constituency who was forced to give up his taxi run. His insurance went from €1,400 to €6,500. He told me that he was better off on social welfare. His business is gone. He also employed two part-time workers, so three jobs have been lost and three families have been affected because of the high cost of motor insurance.

There are also huge problems with inflated insurance costs for small businesses. A constituent came to me recently and told me that her public liability insurance premium quotation was €1,900 the first year. Five years down the road, for her small business, which is struggling in rural Ireland, she is paying €6,280. People are being run out of business because of those costs. There had been no claims or accidents relating to that business. We certainly cannot afford to lose these small business owners who contribute so much to sustainable jobs and rural recovery.

This State has an obligation to tackle this problem. Yes, the collapse of Setanta Insurance and Quinn Insurance is having a huge knock-on effect, but it is only one of the factors adding to the burden. We need more transparency relating to the staggering legal costs involved in settling some claims and the inflated settlements paid. I would like to see the legal costs relating to the average claim that reaches the Circuit Court. We would all welcome greater transparency in this regard in order that the costs could be challenged if need be. The claimant does not receive any knowledge relating to how much their legal team are paid for the handling of their case when responsibility is established. The average payment for a so-called fender bender is €15,000, which is three times greater than the average claim in the UK for a minor accident and five times higher than the awards in Spain or Italy.

I also welcome the introduction of a "care not cash" system where those with bodily injuries will be given treatment packages and expenses rather than a cash lump sum. This will certainly cut out the claim culture for minor injuries.

Fraudulent claims must be highlighted and investigated. The fact that very few cases of insurance fraud are actually referred to the courts shows that the insurance companies are not doing enough to investigate fraud but are quick to add the cost of fraud to the consumer. It may be changing and I hope it does. The facts are there and we have a difficult situation. I congratulate Deputy McGrath on bringing forward this motion. It is vital that this issue be dealt with immediately because it has caused enormous difficulty for many people throughout the country.

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