Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would like to support the motion but, as the previous speaker has said, I have been here for about two and half years and have spoken on many motions following which nothing has happened. Debates such as this one create a feelgood factor, but it is ordinary people who are suffering from the consequences of high insurance right around the country.

We debated the issue of water this week, while at the same time people are losing €500, €600 or €700. Businesses are losing up to €25,000 - insurance hikes in the lorry industry have been as high as that. We need to address this problem rapidly. We are losing businesses to other countries, in particular in the transport sector. Businesses are going to Bulgaria because they can get insurance for about one tenth of what they have been quoted here. Insurance for farms and houses is also increasing. I have not heard the issue of flooding mentioned during the debate. Deputy McGrath is involved in the issue.

If all sides of the Dáil are willing to solve this problem, we will need to deal with the bill of quantum. The issue of scam claims has to be addressed. Unless we do that, we will not bring down the cost of insurance. We need a bill of quantum that does not award people astronomical sums of money for hurting their big toes, fingers or whatever. We cannot keep going the way we have been because there is a finite number of people in the country.

We cannot handle the insurance companies; rather, we have to make sure that we handle the court system so that the craziness does not continue.

People and businesses that paid €20,000 last year are being asked to pay €35,000 and €40,000 this year, but they are not getting any more themselves for their work. In fact, they may be pricing work tighter. Unless we do something about this, we will see them leaving the country, which is no good to us because they will not be paying their taxes here.

Young drivers are being screwed at the moment. I have raised this issue on numerous occasions, including today at the Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport. We can make sure that a car will not travel at any more than 50 km/h or 60 km/h. It is the same as a lorry. This ability is in all lorries and buses in the country. Why can we not do something positive such as that and give young people insurance for the same price as those who have been driving a few years? If they then have a crash, tough luck. However, if they know that they are getting the chance they deserve to start off in life at the normal rate, they will mind themselves. We need to do such simple things and ensure that we attack the likes of the book of quantum. We can talk about it until the cows come home but insurance companies will do what they like. Insurance companies in other countries came here and then left people high and dry. These people were paying monthly and some had borrowed money to pay these companies. However, they ended up with no insurance and all they were told in the media was to go and get other insurance. If this keeps happening to people, they will get fed up with it.

The number of people who are uninsured needs to be clarified. This issue has been written about in a few newspapers but the number needs to be questioned. I do not think that many people are uninsured. People are scraping together the cost of insuring vehicles. However, many people might have an old car that they did not deregister thrown in the back of the yard and, because it is still registered, it is showing up as being still on the road. The figures contained in these great surveys from the so-called experts might not be as accurate as we think.

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