Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome everybody in the Gallery and thank them for being here. It is widely accepted that we have a serious problem here and businesses across the country, including many small and medium enterprises, are being crippled by insurance costs that are going up and up. We know the SME sector employs approximately 44% of all people employed in this country, so we should do all we can to protect those businesses to ensure they can operate in a sustainable fashion. We are very good at reports, talking, more reports and having no action. The question must be when the Government will complete the action points on the report on the cost of employer and public liability. The time for talking is now over. If the Government cannot solve a very obvious and simple problem, what are we doing? We know this matter has been around and highlighted many times over a period. The Government has not yet fixed it and I want to know what it will do about it, as does every person in the Gallery tonight.

It is very easy to blame the lawyers in this. I was a lawyer and I dealt with personal injuries. I was also the victim of what I considered a spurious whiplash claim. My insurance company did not consult with me and it paid out without challenging that claim. It is a major problem that insurance companies are not taking responsibility and paying out claims without challenging them. That must be admitted. It is very easy to blame other professions and pass the buck by saying the problem must be with somebody else. The insurance companies must do their jobs as well. They should challenge claims where they believe there is a real and substantial risk that the claim could be false.

It is very important that we guarantee those here tonight that we will have a business environment in which they can operate and which is sustainable. Insurance forms a massive part of ongoing operating costs and it is affecting our competitiveness and the ability of SMEs to retain the jobs we have and employ new people. I can give an example before I finish. A tree surgeon in my community had a few vans on the road and he employed men. The cost of his insurance almost doubled in one year so he had to let people go. That is happening all across the country.

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