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

I thought that after two and a half years something would be done to help young people to get insurance at a reasonable cost. I gave several weeks to discussing the programme for Government and pulled out before I had finished because most of the stuff I was putting into it was being pulled out as fast as we were putting it into it. I did, however, think the Government would do something about insurance. It has the power to do something about the cost of insurance, the cost of claims and all of the racket that is going on, but it is doing nothing about them. There is nothing in the Bill that will help the ordinary young person on the road today or who will try to go on the road tomorrow to get insurance at a reasonable cost. All I can see is that there will be a percentage added to insurance premiums to help insurance companies to go wallop as they have been doing. We all saw clearly after Quinn Insurance went out of business how the cost of insurance went up. Surely the Government can also see that they now have a monopoly. There is no one competing with them; they are all doing the same and offering the same price.

Will the Minister of State do something about the business of ten-year-old cars which are perfect in every way, with a low mileage and doing a low mileage, for which the insurance companies will not quote? Will he talk to them and did he talk to them? He will not talk to them because it is clear that if he did, he would get some results. Quotes for older people are being doubled from €400 to €800 or €900. Young fellows who deserve a chance to go on the road for the first time are being quoted €3,500, €5,000 or €6,500. How can they manage to pay that sum? I am talking about people living in rural Ireland who do not have a bus, DART or taxi service or access to any public service. The Government talks about seven or eight bus routes that it has added to Rural Link in County Kerry. For what will that cater?

It may be wrong for me to point my finger or direct my venom at the Minister of State, but where is the rest of his gang who were here in numbers last Friday clapping for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross? Where are they tonight? Why are they not all here listening to this debate on the serious matter of insurance for people who do not want to break the law and need insurance to go on the road to get to work, their apprenticeship or college? There is no holding them here tonight, but they will clap for the Minister all right when he ensures more people will have to stay at home, thumb or cycle from vast distances into towns.

Business people are being hit by the cost of claims. In England someone who suffers a whiplash injury will receive £7,600. In Ireland, for a very minor injury, someone will receive €19,400 and the figure has been known to go up to €77,000. They must have brass necks or gold necks. It is very unfair to think that is happening here and that the Government has been told about it before, but it has done nothing and will do nothing about it. It is two and a half years since it promised that it would. I thought that in this Bill it was going to sort out verything to do with insurance, but there is nothing in it. The Government is only codding the people. It told lies and I mean that. A few weeks ago it stated the cost of insurance had gone down by 17%.

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