Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend the work of my colleague, Deputy Michael McGrath, on this issue and welcome the opportunity to speak. Motor insurance is mandatory for every citizen who wants to drive. As such, there is an obligation on the State to ensure it is accessible and fairly priced. That is not the case. I pay more for my insurance today after ten years of driving than I did when I started. There is something wrong with that. The cost is crippling and means that many young people cannot afford to get on the road. As someone from a rural constituency, I know that having a car is a necessity for many, in particular to get to work and school. At a time when we are trying to get people to return from abroad, the cost of insurance they are being quoted is astronomical. One is talking about a sum of more than €2,000.

I turn to the cost to business. A man in my constituency with a tree surgery business has a fleet of three vans. Last year his insurance costs actually doubled and this year the insurance companies will not provide him with a quote. Things are not improving; they are getting worse.

As has been said, we could be here all day talking about this. The reality on the ground is people cannot afford the costs as they currently stand and we need to address this matter urgently.

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