Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her statement, although it might give little solace to the workers who now feel under threat in eBay in Dundalk, which is in my constituency.

I want to raise another issue. Six months ago, the Minister for Finance established a task force in his Department to review policy in the insurance sector. Last week, however, in a parliamentary response to an Teachta Pearse Doherty, the Minister revealed that the review group into the rising cost of car insurance will only meet for the first time this week and will not meet again until September. There is no timeframe within which the review is to be compiled. When I raised this matter with the Taoiseach four weeks ago he said it would be raised at the Cabinet sub-committee.

I appeal to the Minister to set a timeframe for dealing with this issue with the urgency it requires. There is a lot of dissatisfaction as premiums have increased by 67% in the past three years. I support the demand for a task force similar to the Motor Insurance Advisory Board, established in the 1990s, to be set up. The MIAB's recommendations led to a 40% drop in premiums. I appeal to the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance to deal with this matter with more urgency than we have seen thus far.

See this speech in context