Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I only have two minutes, but I could speak for an hour were I to go into detail about some of the calls and emails I have received from distraught young people, their parents and many angry business owners about the scandalous rise in the cost of motor and business insurance. This is not a new issue. Fianna Fáil has long called for the Government to act on it. In 2014 motor insurance costs were increasing at an annual rate of 11.6%, while in 2015, they rose by 30.8%. In the 12 months to December 2016, they increased by 12.2%. It is extremely frustrating that it took until January 2017 for the Government to respond to an issue which affects every household in the country. In simple terms, this and the previous Government have done nothing. They kicked the can down the road for three years and delayed matters further by establishing working groups and commissioning reports. In the meantime, small taxi operators and haulage companies have been forced out of business.

Insurance costs are proving to be a major concern for all businesses throughout the country, whether it be motor, public liability or employer's liability insurance. Many SMEs have experienced business insurance cost increases of between 6% and 15%, while in some cases the increases have been much more. In addition, insurance companies are using insurance excess figures and exclusions to protect themselves at the expense of their customers. The Central Bank should be pressurised to take a more hands-on role to regulate the insurance sector to ensure there will be greater transparency. It is totally unfair that motorists have been left in the dark about the rise in premiums and are expected to put up and shut up as insurance companies act like cartels. We must bring forward deadlines for certain major action points in the reports such as for the establishment of a national claims information database. The Government released a quarter one update last week on progress on the report on the rising costs of motor insurance. Despite being three years into this issue, three of the ten items to be completed in quarter one have yet to be implemented. It is simply not good enough.

This is scandalous. A young member of my own family who is 18 years of age was covered under his mother's insurance policy last year as a named driver for approximately €800. They paid for his lessons, after 11 of which he got his driving licence. When he went back to take out insurance as a named driver, the insurer asked for €4,500 from him. It is impossible. It has gone out of all proportion and is up to the Government to do something about it.

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