Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The main focus of the motion is Setanta Insurance and I am very conscious of it because in my constituency I have come across many people who were caught out. Many people who were insured by Setanta Insurance were farmers, people with Jeeps and vans and sole traders. This was mainly the market it targeted and these people have been badly affected.

It must be our priority that claimants receive their compensation as soon as possible and it should be paid out without any cap. It is very strange to have a 65% cap on the Insurance Compensation Fund. It is not sufficient because people in this country must ensure their vehicles. The State makes people get insurance. It is not optional and people must do it, but when something goes wrong the State has put in place a situation whereby people can only receive 65% of what they rightly deserve as part of their claim. This is a huge issue.

It is not good enough that people who are legally obliged to have insurance are not protected when something goes wrong. This is the nub of what this is about. This is not the first time an insurance company has gone bust and left customers in the lurch. As has been stated, there are many instances of this and there need to be safeguards to prevent it in future. Providing these safeguards does not mean the cost of insurance premiums must rise. People are fed up listening to so-called justifications for the rising costs of insurance from an industry which likes to pretend its only motivation is to provide insurance. Its real motivation is profit but it pretends it is not. The increases introduced by the insurance industry in recent years would more than cover the €90 million it would cost and the people do not want to hear any more whingeing from the insurance industry.

Setanta Insurance may have been based in Malta but it was an Irish company and there is no justification for blaming poor regulation abroad for this situation. It is not as if Irish companies have not behaved carelessly and gone under previously. The nub of this is the consumers are those who can least afford to suffer and be left without compensation.

We also have the issue, which was mentioned earlier by Deputy Neville, regarding young drivers. They cannot get insurance that does not cost thousands. We have a situation in rural areas where many people with a car of more than ten years of age will not be quoted for insurance, but the car has an NCT and is supposed to be roadworthy according to the State. Many issues need to be dealt with. The no claims bonus issue is a big problem for people who return from abroad. If people are abroad for more than three years their no claims bonus is gone and they cannot bring it home, although they may have been driving in a much more dangerous part of the world than here. These rules have been put in place by an industry which wants to cripple the public with more costs.

Many people who had Setanta Insurance were owners of small commercial vehicles and vans, the loss of which would mean, for some of them, a loss of their business. Not many people with small businesses would have the cash to replace a vehicle while still waiting for the payout of an insurance claim. This is not to mention those who are waiting for the repayment of their premiums, which they bought in good faith but then had to go out and insure their vans again.

It is not good enough for people to be left hanging on while the Supreme Court makes a judgment. The insurance industry cannot be allowed to call the shots and the Government must step up to defend clients and ensure people get their compensation.

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