Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion here this evening. I compliment my colleague, Deputy Michael McGrath, on bringing this forward. Indeed, the Deputy has been innovative and creative in bringing forward a host of measures over the past 12 months to deal with the issue of motor insurance and the escalation in premiums that is currently taking place and that is out of control. Deputy Michael McGrath has been working tirelessly in this regard over the past number of years and I compliment him and thank him for that work.

The problem here is threefold. There is no accountability, very little responsibility and no regulation. That is the issue and the consequences in that regard, and the effect it is having on the public, is why we are debating this motion this evening. That is the real problem.

Many people are waiting for this issue to be resolved and it is still not being resolved. We are coming in here, time and time again, as my colleague, Deputy Calleary stated, talking about this while the public is watching. People are looking to this House for hope, to get these issues resolved and to have regulation and policy put in place to stop the unacceptable increase in motor insurance premiums. It is no longer acceptable. We have been speaking about this for a number of years. It has been an ongoing issue since the Motor Insurance Advisory Board was disbanded in 2013 but, over the past year or 18 months, insurance premiums have increased by over 40%. This is unacceptable.

We have to stop talking about this stuff. We need action. The people out there who are looking in are desperate for help. The increases are putting them under serious pressure. Whether it is this issue or motor insurance in general, they are looking for results from this House, from the Minister of State, Deputy Breen, and from the Government which they are not seeing at present. We need to start letting the people see that we mean business and that this issue will be resolved. We need to ensure that the motor insurance issue in general is resolved, premiums and policies are brought under control and people get back the benefits they are entitled to, and that we will stop this happening again. I hope we will stop talking and deliver, and that the people out there watching, who elected us all to do a job on their behalf, will see solutions delivered in this regard.

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