Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Things are tetchy between the partners in government today. Yesterday it was announced that the European Commission, under the stewardship of the Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, is to undertake a formal antitrust investigation into Insurance Ireland's data pooling system. I welcome that announcement. It is a decision which will be welcomed by motorists across the State who are being crippled by the increased cost of insurance. However, this is not only an issue which affects motorists. Rising insurance costs impact on people from all walks of life, on business, on farmers, on marts, and on community festivals up and down the country.

Very serious allegations are being levelled at the insurance industry here: that it operates a cartel to the detriment of new entrants to the market and ultimately to customers who are being fleeced. It beggars belief that it has taken the European Commission to step in here when it is clear that insurers have been ripping off policyholders for years and the Government has consistently refused to act on serious issues that have been raised.

In 2016, on the initiative of my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach produced a report on the rising cost of motor insurance. Its first recommendation was "an end to any sort of “closed shop” mentality prevailing among existing insurers in the market – full access to data must be made available to all new entrants." Since then, Insurance Ireland has continued to operate as normal and has brazenly opposed sensible attempts to bring greater transparency to the insurance industry. The Government must now regard insurers and their assertions in a manner that takes account of the very serious allegations that are levelled against them. That is why in addition to what I hope is a very speedy result to this investigation we see major reforms of how insurers do their business and treat their customers. We need to see a commitment to bring down prices as changes to awards are brought in and crucially we need new legislation to put manners on the insurance industry.

Sinn Féin has a Bill, the Consumer Insurance Contracts Bill, which passed Second Stage in the Dáil unanimously, and was supported by the Government, to reform and modernise the law in respect of insurance contracts. Since that passed Second Stage, the Government has stymied the Bill's progress and has blocked it from going any further. It has dragged its heels on this issue for far too long. It is clear that the Government's kid gloves approach towards the insurance industry has failed and that it must end.

Will the Taoiseach give a commitment that the Government will allow the Bill to progress? Will it ensure that it is passed to bring the insurance industry to heel and that it will act decisively in the interest of policyholders and consumers?

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