Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government is stepping up in this area. The Bill the Deputy referred to is in the Seanad. A conversation is happening between the Department and the Commissioner on a specific Garda fraud unit to respond to the concerns the Deputy has raised. I know that Deputy Michael McGrath only yesterday introduced new legislation which will go to Second Stage soon. We will look at the merits of that Bill. There have been three pieces of legislation passed in the past 12 to 18 months concerning insurance and insurance costs. This is an issue and we are responding to it. I agree with the Deputy that, despite all of the things that have been done in recent years to respond to concerns and frustrations from the insurance industry, there always seems to be a new reason for insurance premiums to increase. Looking at asset values and profits in this sector, there is no large insurance company in Ireland making a loss at the moment, and many are making very significant profits. We will respond, but we also expect an appropriate response from the insurance industry.

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