Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Ministers may laugh, but they know this because they are hearing it in their constituency clinics every week. There has been ample anecdotal evidence from every town and village in the past five years about premium increases. They have defied any logic and any reasonable expectations, and operate outside market conditions.

The political reaction by the Government to the issue has been extremely weak and inordinately slow. I hope the Minister of State and the other Ministers present will listen to that. The Government has completely failed to grasp the seriousness of this situation for thousands of motor vehicle users and only at the last moment, driven largely by public pressure has it woken up to the scale of the problem.

We have had beef cartels and bank cartels, all of which used their industry dominance and insider knowledge to maintain their massive and obscene profits. The bankers have wiped out the farmers and the whole country. Are we going to let the motor insurance industry rip us all off here as well?

Last year Allianz, Europe's biggest insurer, reported record operating profits of €10.8 billion. Aviva Ireland reported an increase of 32% in its operating profit to €92 million last year. What do they want - the blood of the people? Young people do the theory test, pay an instructor to get the right standard of driving, pass their test and then they are made criminals before they go on the road because they are penalised to the tune of €4,000 to €7,000. They can buy a car for €2,000 and the insurance is costing their parents up to four times that amount. It is a rotten, stinking cartel.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission recently investigated small bus companies in Tipperary suspected of operating a cartel. They might have the law down on top of them - dawn raids with all kinds of intimidation of the bus owners. I do not support any cartels, but this has to stop I want to see the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission flex its muscle and not use this timid language that one would use when courting a girl up a boreen when we all buachaillí óga agus cailíní óga fadó fadó.

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