Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I encourage the Minister of State to drive through the reforms that are necessary in the interests of the industry and of consumers. When he introduced the Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2018 last night, there was strong support across the House for the Bill. Equally, I have no doubt there will be strong support if he is to tackle in a meaningful way the key issues affecting consumers in the insurance sector.

One of the most depressing replies I got was about the CSO collecting data on the cost of business insurance, employer liability and public liability. It seems to be as far away as ever. At least we can measure the impact on premiums for motor insurance policies but we are operating blind when it comes to the cost of insurance for businesses, local community groups, voluntary bodies and sporting clubs. We are relying on their feedback, which is not positive. In a moment I will refer to other more specific issues. Could the Minister of State deal with that issue and try to get data on the cost of insurance in the non-motor area because there is a vacuum currently and it makes policymaking all the harder when we do not have access to basic information?

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