Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to dispel one thing that has been consistent from the Opposition, which is that the Government has done nothing on this. People are looking for a roadmap. There is a roadmap. There is the motor insurance report in conjunction with the report of the Personal Injuries Commission, PIC. I have been struck by one thing when meeting people, and since I have come into this job I have met the Irish Hotels Federation, IBEC, ISME, the Vintners Federation of Ireland, the Licensed Vintners Association, RGDATA, Chambers Ireland, the Law Society of Ireland, the Health and Safety Authority, Insurance Ireland, the chief executive officers from the operating companies, representatives from Lloyds and others. Anybody who says this Government is not doing anything does not know what they are talking about. This is the report and there are 15 recommendations and 29 actions. All of the actions for quarter one will be concluded on time. All of the actions for quarter two are on track. We will have 26 of the 29 actions concluded by the end of the year and 12 of the 15 recommendations also by the end of the year. People should not mistake where we are making movements in the right direction with an action. We are dealing with things. We have moved a lot of difficult issues in conjunction with the motor insurance report. Make no mistake about that, please.

I thank Deputy Michael McGrath for the opportunity to speak on this. I am truly disappointed at the number of occasions that I meet people in respect of public liability and employer's liability and the number of people who come to meet me and do not even know about this report. I am always surprised on every occasion. It is important to understand that it is the cumulative effect of all of these actions, with the actions from the motor insurance report and the other reports, when we get them all done, that will have a major impact on the sector.

It is not just one or two silver bullets.

The Minister for Finance is not in a position to direct insurers to provide cover or to provide it at a particular price. He does have a role in setting out a roadmap for reform for the sector as a whole, however. That is what these reports and their recommendations are designed to do. Ultimately, the overarching aim of the working group report is to ensure the insurance sector is stable and consistent, making it a more attractive place for new entrants. If this is achieved, there will be more competition and prices will become more affordable.

This issue of increased competition is important. One point that has become clear from my engagement with business policyholders is the limited selection of insurers available to provide cover to them. In some instances, it is just one company and, quite often, that single company is based outside of the State. As a consequence of this lack of competition, the price of cover being charged is in some cases exorbitant. In turn, the business has no choice but to accept it because no one else is willing to offer any such cover. We must, therefore, make the market more attractive. That is why the working group believes the emphasis needs to be on ensuring consistency in award levels through the regular use of the book of quantum. If this objective can be achieved, then insurers can have greater certainty and predictability in reserving. This type of stability should encourage more companies, both domestic and from outside of the State, back into the market.

An insurance award should be within the book of quantum, whether somebody chooses to conclude it without going to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board or going down the legal route. That is what we must achieve. If we can do that, then we will have removed the outliers in which the insurance companies are obliged under the Solvency II directive to have higher levels of reserve. However, there is no single policy or legislative initiative which can immediately transform existing insurance pricing. Some actions require time to be implemented. For instance, those which require legislation to be put in place, such as a national claims information database, also require reform of existing legislation.

We must challenge the insurance companies not to settle cases early. We have heard the same story from every single sector, be it refuse collection, marts, farms or retail, namely insurance premia go up when a claim is made. The circumstances in that are not acceptable. I met with the Minister for Justice and Equality today on amending section 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004. This requires an initial warning letter to be sent to inform a defendant as early as possible about a claim. Currently, that stands at two months. We must reconcile this with new data protection rules under GDPR, the general data protection regulation. These will come into effect in May and will require CCTV evidence must be deleted in a period of time. If a claim is taken against somebody, the defendant must be informed about it to ensure any CCTV evidence is retained. This will allow people to be in a position to prepare a proper defence. Often, claims are made six or eight months after an incident but the video evidence has gone. Accordingly, the business has no method of defending itself appropriately. We must ensure this ends as quickly as possible. I met with the Minister for Justice and Equality today and we are on track to ensure this will be in place in six months to coincide with new data protection rules.

Sections 25 and 26 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 deal with false evidence and fraudulent actions. Taking a claim against somebody is effectively a one-way bet. One can go to court, take a chance and try to get a big chunk of money from the insurers. However, they are not taking from insurers but from the pockets of everybody who pays insurance premia. This results in every premia being more expensive than it should be. In cases where a judge believes there is fraud or extreme exaggeration, he will make no award. However, this costs the person who made the claim nothing. We need an appropriate pathway between An Garda Síochána, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Courts Service and insurers to ensure such a claimant does not walk out the door scot free and can chance it again the next time. That is one area in which we can prevent fraud. We have analysed sections 25 and 26 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 and we believe they are strong enough to provide for this.

Much work has been done in this area but I have not been able to touch on all of it in the time allocated. People are not aware of the amount of work done. I have suggested to the Chairman of the Oireachtas finance committee that my officials and I would present to the committee to outline what we have done and what we intend to do. I intend to end the era of people taking a punt and screwing somebody over through a dodgy claim.

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