Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister will be aware that the Joint Committee on Business, Enterprise and Innovation recently published a report on the costs of doing business. According to all the stakeholders we met, the main factor was insurance and, as other Deputies have outlined, their inability to secure insurance at a cost they could afford. It is causing significant problems. I do not understand why there is no urgency in the Government to deal with the issue and I cannot understand the Government's approach to the cost of insurance crisis. It is yet another crisis unfolding under the Government's watch. Bold action could address it quickly if the Government had the interest to do so, although I do not believe that it does or that it recognises the urgency. Rather, it stands idly by while the situation worsens. As with its approach to the housing crisis, the Government's unwavering commitment to the free market economy wreaks havoc on our society. Small businesses are closing, people are losing their jobs, while entrepreneurs who pour their lives into building their businesses are losing everything for which they have worked, solely due to the exorbitant cost of insurance.

I appreciate that the Bill deals mainly with the issue of insurance fraud, an important issue but not by a long shot the only reason for the high cost of insurance. Insurance companies are having a laugh at people, consumers, politicians and regulators - all the way to the bank. In recent weeks, Aviva Ireland posted profits of €113 million, an increase of €14 million on last year, RSA Insurance announced profits of €35 million for the past 12 months, while FBD Insurance reported profits of €50 million. These massive profits are on the back of unaffordable insurance premiums, which are not only closing businesses but also keeping people off the road because they cannot pay thousands of euro per year in car insurance premiums. The considerable increases in the cost of policies in the voluntary, community and charity sectors also have a severely detrimental effect on their ability to sustain their projects and, in some cases, to carry on. All of us will have met stakeholders who have outlined the issues they have with the cost of insurance, rising premiums and their inability to pay. A family resource centre in my area has used its reserves to pay for insurance this year because of the significant increases, but it will not have those resources for next year. We need action as quickly as possible. I have lost count of the number of Bills, including some sponsored by my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, motions and suggestions put forward by the Opposition to tackle the insurance problem, yet the Government frustrates these measures and refuses to act itself.

Ultimately, Fianna Fáil is the party keeping the shambolic Government in office. Now that Brexit has been kicked down the road for six months, it would be sensible for Fianna Fáil to call a halt to the charade, withdraw its support for Fine Gael, and allow voters the opportunity to choose an alternative Government that is prepared to take on big business and tackle the cost of insurance crisis.

When will the Garda insurance fraud unit be up and running? The Minister stated it would be in the not too distant future, but this gives no comfort to anybody. Does he intend to reinstate blue book oversight of the insurance industry? Will he seek a commitment from insurers that they will drop premiums in return for any reform that will reduce their costs? As I stated, they are making big profits. Is the Minister able to update us on the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, investigation into insurance companies that has been ongoing for almost two years? Will he update us on the status of Sinn Féin's Consumer Insurance Contracts Bill?

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