Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Michael McGrath and the Fianna Fáil party for putting this motion before the Chamber and for giving us the opportunity to discuss this very serious matter of which, as public representatives, we are reminded every single day and maybe several times in any one day. Young drivers cannot get realistic quotes that they can afford to pay. I am of the belief that one should always give young people a chance at least until they blot their copybook. They are entitled to be treated fairly until that happens. They should at least get a chance and be allowed to start off. Young people need their cars, especially where we come from. There is no mode of transport in rural places other than a car and one needs to have a car of one's own. Many of these youngsters now cannot go to work because they cannot afford insurance.

Likewise, old drivers are being penalised. Their quotes are being doubled. That is not fair and it makes no sense. Quotes for taxis and hackneys have gone up. The cost of their yearly premiums has gone up. I know of two cases in which the quote rose to €14,000. They could not come up with that kind of money and it forced them off the road.

I will give one example in each case. I know of a haulier who paid €70,000 last year. This year, he is being quoted €250,000. That is the truth. Youngsters of 21 years of age are being asked to pay €4,000 and €5,000. They cannot afford that. Returning to old people, I know of one man who never had a crash in his life. His insurance went up from €340 to €780. He has actually paid it. I know another man who was a bit luckier. His quote went a way up as well from around €300 to more than €700. He went along and told his son about it. His son had a lot of vehicles and could not believe the figure his father was being quoted. The son went along the insurance company or broker and asked how his father was being charged so much. The response was, "Oh, is he your father?". This is a fact. The son said that it was his father and the company said to leave it with them. They came back after a few hours and said that his premium would be the same next year. That tells me that something is going on and that insurance companies are not being honest.

There is a huge increase in claims and the value of claims. There are companies out there especially putting claims together for solicitors. Claimants cannot lose because the legal profession operates on the basis of "no foal, no fee". They cannot lose. Why is it that the Personal Injuries Assessment Board is only dealing with 20% of the claims? For a serious case of whiplash in England, the maximum payout a claimant can get is £7,600. For a very minor one here, a claimant will get €18,400. For a serious one, a claimant will get €77,000. A girl got €76,000 for her finger being caught in a door. The solicitor got €47,000 of that. I will not say where it was, but another solicitor boasted that he got €80,000 for such a claim and said that if others have similar cases, he can get that money for them too. A fella who slipped on a wet floor when he was actually pushed, for some reason or other - I cannot understand it - got €750,000. I have said it before that the fraud squad or some special investigation unit should be put into action to follow these things up because this is what is causing much of the increases, or at least this is what we are being told is the cause of the increase in quotes and premiums for the young, the old and the business people I mentioned.

If we go back about 14 years, we had the same scenario in this country. People could not afford insurance because it had become very expensive at that time. I know that because my oldest two lads were coming on the scene at the time and I could not insure them on their own. I had to insure them on an old jeep I had and put them on my insurance. That is a fact. We do not have enough competition in the insurance market at present. I will say categorically that while Seán Quinn was operating we could pay for insurance. Sadly, he has been taken out of it. People could get insurance and when he was there, they could pay for it. He was taken out but he would have paid his way back. The bankers who broke the country were let off and they got away with it.

Deputy Boyd Barrett brought the issue of health insurance to my attention and I agree with him. How is it if a person is in hospital for two or three days, he or she is liable to pay about €75 a night for his or her stay yet if he or she has VHI the hospital will take a fee of €800 or €850 from VHI for the same stay? Why is that happening? It is the HSE that is doing it. It is driving up the cost of private health cover. That should be investigated. It is happening everywhere. Regardless of what hospital it is, it is happening and it is unfair because, at the end of the day, it is the public that has to pay for it.

We are raising all these issues in respect of the cost of insurance with the Minister of State, and I have done so since I came here. Something needs to be done. The Government should have a role to play when someone has been refused insurance or when someone is given an exorbitant quote he or she cannot pay. The Government or some independent body should have the power to ask why that is the case because it is totally unfair. It is the most common thing we are asked at our clinics and especially when we meet youngsters. They are trying to get going and want to get out in the world but they are being prevented from doing that. There must be more competition in the market and the Government must investigate further to ensure companies are acting fairly because I do not believe they are at present.

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