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

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. To be frank, it is very worrying. I would like to know whether the change in Danish law is compliant with EU law. That is something the Department of Finance should follow up on. That needs to be dealt with because the Danish authorities are simply passing on the bill in respect of a company that was principally regulated there. My main concern is that this process is being managed so that Qudos will be put into bankruptcy after 1 January. That has very serious implications. It will cost Irish consumers tens of millions of euro. It will mean that some claimants will not get all of their money because they will be subject to the conditions of the insurance compensation fund, which has a cap of 65% or €825,000, whichever is the lesser.

For Irish consumers to have to pick up the tab yet again is just not on. They are already paying up to 7% in taxes and levies on their insurance policies. We are now looking at the potential of another major draw on the insurance compensation fund. Looking at the figures, I note that the number of open claims, now at 1,544, will rise. That is the nature of how insurance works. It can take time for claims to be put into the system. We are looking at another debacle on the scale of Setanta Insurance, which is still rumbling on almost five years after the collapse of that company.

There are major questions about the quality of regulation of insurance across the European Union. It is only as strong as its weakest link. I support the passporting provisions. Ireland is a significant exporter of insurance services. However, this system only works if there is a common standard of regulation across the European Union. I have raised this issue directly with the European insurance regulator. We will see what that body's response will be. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, needs to raise this issue at a political level within the European Union. That has not happened to date and it is not good enough. This needs to become a significant political issue on the agenda of the Eurogroup, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, ECOFIN, and the other relevant authorities.

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