Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

People in my community and communities throughout the country are at crisis point in trying to run their businesses because of the crippling cost of employer liability and public liability insurance. Whether self-employed people, tradespeople, companies or indeed, as referenced by many others, voluntary and community enterprises, the cost of this type of insurance is proving to be unsustainable and will push many people out of business. We need to remember that there are in excess of 970,000 people employed in this sector across the country. The retail sector is the low-hanging fruit for insurance fraud and is the sector most susceptible to bogus claims. As a consequence of that, many struggle to pay the premiums and again, as alluded to, they are contemplating self-insuring which is a major risk or a risk too far. There are no active deterrents for unscrupulous people who contemplate exaggerating their claims. Where people do this and it is found by the court, they should be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions as a matter of fact. Others have referred to the book of quantum. My time is limited so I will not refer to that but just flag it again as others have. I would argue that there should be more involvement with policyholders in the settlement of claims and, as a priority, they should at least be informed of how much people are awarded so that there is more transparency. There is a need to deal with them head on in letting them know what is happening with claims. Somebody said that there is a possible cartel. It is my firm belief that a cartel is operating with no regulation in the industry and no competition in pricing. If we do not get to grips in this country with those spiralling and unsustainable insurance costs, the small enterprises and the business sectors referenced, for example, by Retail Excellence Ireland, Retail Grocery Dairy & Allied Trades Association, RGDATA, IBEC and the Small Firms Association will soon be priced out of business.

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