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

I welcome the candour and openness of the Minister of State on the issue. From a Fianna Fáil perspective, it is important that the option of a referendum is kept on the table. We are going down this road of the Judicial Council Bill and we all hope it will result in the change that we believe necessary but, if it does not, we must look at alternatives. We will wait to see what the Law Reform Commission comes back with but there is also the option of a referendum which is a live option that should be left on the table.

On a related issue, I ask the Minister of State for his view on the fact that Insurance Ireland, a representative body, continues essentially to own and control some key databases, particularly Insurance Link, which contains much important, market-sensitive data about claims history which is used by industry participants to crosscheck information that has been provided to them by policy holders and claimants. I ask that notwithstanding and without prejudice to the European Commission investigation which is ongoing and will take an undefined period of time. Is it appropriate, in the view of the Minister of State, that the industry owns and controls data that is vital to having a healthy, competitive insurance industry in this country? It is beyond the time when the State should take control of such data. I would welcome the views of the Minister of State on the issue.

See this speech in context