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

I will deal with the last point first. There is not such a set of rules. Insurance, being the business it is, has capital amounts underwriting business and cash coming in to try to ensure there are sufficient cash reserves to settle claims. As sure as there are insurance companies, there will be insurance company failures. I would not say we have been quarrelling over how exactly to put in place the best structure but there was a pretty substantial court procedure - involving the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. Until that was concluded, it was very difficult for the State to intervene. In the short period from December 2017 until January of this year, we moved as quickly as we could after the actuarial analysis was concluded to try to ensure those people who adhered to the law correctly and appropriately and found themselves facing a potential claim through no fault of their own would be facilitated in the way we have facilitated them, bringing the level up to a level similar to the one in question, maybe involving the ICF.

I thank Deputy Michael McGrath. I am aware of his determination to try to bring this to a conclusion. I appreciate that on all occasions he was just pursuing the matter on behalf of his constituents. This applies to all the Deputies who questioned me and my predecessors. It is absolutely my intention to have no amendments in the Seanad. With no amendments there, we will be able to conclude this legislation next week, in this term. It will then go to the President for his signature. The matter will be finished and then it will be a matter of the administrative process for the next tranche, which will be three months from the enactment of the legislation.

The Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Bill 2018 was published today. This is an important Bill because, when enacted, it will enable the Central Bank of Ireland to publish a range of information on an annual basis to increase transparency on the relationship between insurance premiums and related costs, identify current and emergency trends within the market, identify the factors that drive movements in the price of insurance in the State, and provide information on the number of claims, as well as providing statistical analyses of the costs associated with settling those claims and, importantly, understanding the settlement channels used by the insurance companies. It is essential that we get the Bill through both Houses in the next term so it can be operational in 2019. The Central Bank is currently trying to establish how we will deal with the national claims information database for motor insurance first. We feel it is appropriate to establish it in the motor sector first, and then we will move to the employer liability and public liability sectors.

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