John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support Deputy McGrath's comments. Has the Minister taken into consideration the recent report by the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach on this particular issue? The report deals with the cost of insurance for Irish motorists and the manner in which insurance companies are dealing with motorists in terms of covering that cost. The Irish Road Haulage Association, representatives of consumers and others appeared before the committee and provided us with facts and many examples of young people who cannot get insurance. These young drivers have not been involved in any accident, have complied with the requirements of the car test, passed the theory test on the rules of the road and so on but insurance companies are penalising them. They do this by offering them insurance quotes that are so outrageous that they simply cannot be paid. The figures that the committee heard in the course of its hearings tell us that the quotes are meant to ensure the drivers simply do not take out an insurance policy. We have young people who are trying to take up employment and do the right thing but the insurance companies are preventing them from being insured to drive on the road. There are other cases where insurance companies have refused to give quotes and, when pressed, they have offered quotes that are totally unaffordable.

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