Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I compliment the Rural Independent Group on tabling this motion and shining a spotlight on insurance issues once again. Motorists and businesses are under far too much pressure and the Government is too complacent on this issue. It has been a year since the publication of the report on the cost of motor insurance, and key to this is implementation. According to the CSO, insurance premiums have reduced slightly in recent months. Maybe this has led the Government to believe that the problem has been solved. Unfortunately, that is not the case. If one happens to be a younger driver or a driver of an older car, one will face significant premium increases. That is if one is lucky enough to get a quote in the first place.

A young person who was in my constituency office a few weeks ago had a budget of €5,000 for a car and insurance, but because the insurance quote was €3,000, that person could only consider cars that cost €2,000. If the insurance had been slightly cheaper, the person would have had a better quality car on the road, and we all know what happens when there are poor quality cars on the road.

Taxi drivers are being put out of business, especially those who want wheelchair-accessible taxis. A new insurance policy for such a taxi costs €10,000, which is €200 per week before a driver even makes a car payment, puts petrol or diesel in the tank or draws a wage. This creates a difficulty for people. When a man set up a taxi business in Tramore recently, the cost of insurance was almost enough to make him not start.

Many businesses are under severe pressure. The Oireachtas Committee on Business, Enterprise and Innovation, which I Chair, has spent the past three months examining the cost of doing business. The main trend running through the presentations from various businesses was the cost of insurance. The committee is so concerned about this matter that we have decided to invite the insurance companies to return to debate the issue because we did not have enough time on the day. There are many issues with insurance, particularly for younger drivers, SMEs and taxi drivers.

See this speech in context