Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are many human stories behind the collapse of Setanta insurance, one of which was brought to my attention last week. A gentleman had an accident in 2012 when his vehicle was hit from behind by a driver who was insured by Setanta. Unfortunately for him, the claim was not concluded by the time the company collapsed in April 2014 and it remains not concluded. He says that he is thousands of euro out of pocket between medical expenses and loss of earnings. He is unable to work much of the time because of injury. His solicitor is getting nowhere with it and until the Supreme Court issues its decision in respect of the MIBI-ICF case, this issue and that of many other claimants will not be resolved.

The Minister announced the motor insurance compensation framework last July. It is hotly contested by the industry. If something like this happens again and an insurer that passports in its services under EU law collapses, we are still in limbo as to who is ultimately responsible, which is a real concern.

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