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

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I omitted to mention in my opening remarks the policyholders whose insurance policy with Setanta was the subject of a claim by a third party and who had been left in limbo. Many of them have received legal letters in the past few years informing them that they could be held personally liable and have judgments taken out against them for any shortfall in the amounts paid to the claimants. It is important to indicate that many of those caught up in the collapse of Setanta Insurance also had this issue hanging over their heads.

It is welcome that a date has been set for the next court hearing - Monday, 19 November 2018 - that it will involve the approval of 1,500 separate payments related to the collapse of Setanta Insurance, with a value of approximately €21 million and that the payments will be issued to the affected claimants in late November or early December. I sincerely hope there will be no further delay in the process and that the people concerned will get their money either at the end of this month or early next month but definitely before Christmas this year.

This is not the end of the matter as there will be further tranches that will need to be approved and paid. There are still outstanding claims, for which there are no settlement amounts. I encourage all those involved to try to reach a settlement in order that the mechanisms provided for in the Insurance (Amendment) Act 2018 can kick in and the full amount can be paid. The good news, as per the Minister of State's reply, is that a date has been set and there is light at the end of the tunnel. However, Fianna Fáil will maintain the pressure. I thank everybody who has been working to bring about a resolution of this really difficult issue for those affected. I hope there will be no further undue delay in having the payments issued to those affected.

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