Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Pearse Doherty on his work on this Bill and his tireless work in holding the insurance industry to account. It is in stark contrast to what this Government and previous Governments have done with the insurance rip-off that we have experienced across the length and breadth of the country. Young drivers have been punished over recent years and it is an ongoing problem.

This particular issue sees people being punished for their loyalty. When they remain with a company and are loyal to that company, they are price-gouged. It needs to be dealt with and this legislation deals with it. I spoke to a constituent this week. He told me that his insurance was €785 when he got the price for renewing it, yet he went on the website and it was only €550. He drove only 22% as much as he would be in a normal year, because of the lockdown. His argument was that surely his insurance, and the insurance of everybody, should have gone down because if people are not on the roads and not driving as much, then there will clearly not be as many accidents or claims, yet the insurance industry has pushed prices up. It is a scandal. I heard the Minister on the radio this morning, claiming that this legislation was somehow going to do the opposite and put insurance companies in a position where they would not be able to give discounts. They do not give discounts. They assault people to get more money out of them for a service they have provided previously.

We need the Government to step up to the mark, not just for this legislation but for the whole insurance industry. We need to deal with this in the round. Ireland has a reputation across the world as being a country that is overpriced across many sectors, especially the insurance sector. I welcome that the Government is not going to oppose this legislation. However, putting a stay on it is like putting a stay on people trying to do better. We cannot allow the insurance industry to continue to punish people for doing the right thing.

I appeal to the Minister of State to withdraw the amendment, to deal with this issue right now and to sort out people's problems with regard to insurance across the country.

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