Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which all in this House know is a significant concern for the business sector, sports clubs, crèches and community halls, all of which are facing the cost of rising insurance premiums. We and everyone involved in the sector, including insurance companies, Judiciary and others, need to recognise that increasing insurance costs have a consequence. They can cause businesses to close and people to lose their jobs. None of us wants this to happen. We have made good progress in recent years on the broader area of insurance. We have seen motor insurance fall from its peak in 2016 by maybe 20% or 30%. Health insurance, which had been rising rapidly every year, has now levelled off for the past few years, and the same goes for home insurance. When it comes to public liability, we have much work yet to do. I join the Deputy in complimenting the Irish Independenton the investigation it carried out into the nexus that exists between some elements of the legal and medical professions when it comes to exaggerating and altering claims. That was a very timely investigation and it is something that we all need to pay a lot of attention to because, unfortunately, there is a profit motive there. Elements of both professions make a lot of money out of these claims.

With regard to Government action, as the Deputy acknowledged, we are pressing ahead with the Perjury and Related Offences Bill, which is being piloted by Senator Ó Céidigh and others. That will strengthen our perjury laws regarding those who make fraudulent and exaggerated claims.

In addition, the judicial council will set up a committee, led by judges, to examine the quantum of personal injury claims. Those judges are independent and it is important to allow them to do their work independently. As the Deputy pointed out, the payouts for personal injuries in Ireland are four and five times what they are in other jurisdictions. As we all know, in around 90% of cases, people no longer need to attend treatment for their whiplash once they receive a payment. It seems the cure for whiplash in Ireland is a compensation payment rather than any medical treatment.

Deputy Pearse Doherty has also brought forward legislation to address this issue, for which the Cabinet approved two amendments this morning. We will bring that Bill through and it will result in greater transparency around insurance costs. Senator Ó Céidigh's Bill on perjury and Deputy Pearse Doherty's Bill on transparency are progressing, and most importantly, the judicial council is setting up its independent committee to review the quantum of awards paid to people who suffer injuries in Ireland. If the awards payments go down, we expect the insurance industry, which notwithstanding everything else is very profitable in Ireland, to respond with lower premiums.

I will have to come back to the Deputy about the Bills proposed by Deputy Michael McGrath and former Deputy Billy Kelleher. I will take a look at them and come back to the Deputy during the week on whether they can be progressed and find out why they have not been.

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