Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “That” and substitute the following: “Dáil Éireann resolves that the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021 be deemed to be read a second time this day nine months, to allow for further consideration and analysis of how the Bill interacts with existing insurance data already collected by the Central Bank within the National Claims Information Database (NCID); and for such considerations to be taken into account in further scrutiny of the Bill.”.

This is the second Bill introduced by Deputy Doherty this year relating to insurance. In February, we had a fruitful debate on differential pricing, and I hope that this evening we can have an equally informative discussion. While there is no dispute that these two Bills attempt to address important issues, the Deputy must recognise that these two themes are part of this Government's whole-of-government approach under the action plan for insurance reform, which we launched last December.

There has been considerable progress in delivering on these actions outlined in our action plan. A key achievement was the implementation of the new personal injuries guidelines in April. This was delivered seven months ahead of schedule, a timeframe we felt was reasonable. We are pleased that we are now seven months ahead of schedule and having this debate now because the Government passed the public injuries guidelines in this House some time ago. We are having this debate at this very early stage in the life of the Government as a result of our speedy action in dealing with a variety of matters under the action plan for insurance reform. These guidelines significantly reduce the award levels in a number of areas and will be used by both the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, and the Judiciary. Objectively, these guidelines should bring about reduced costs to customers, not anything contained in the Bill before the House. I stress that it is important for all sides of the House to recognise this fundamental point. The judicial guidelines will bring about the reductions. There is nothing whatever in this legislation - not a scintilla of a sentence or a syllable - to bring about reductions in the cost of insurance. The Bill refers to the production of a report. Based on what the Deputies have said so far, the publication of a report will not shame the insurance companies into reducing premiums. The sole purpose of the Bill is to produce a report insofar as it might shame the industry into doing something, which Deputies have discounted on several occasions this afternoon.

Both the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and I have been engaging directly with insurers to hold them to account in respect of commitments they have made to reflect savings arising from reduced award levels. This will continue over the course of the year to ensure a pass-through of the new guidelines continues to take effect, benefiting policyholders. I welcome that some of the firms have indicated to Oireachtas Members initial reductions on premium renewal as the new guidelines begin to take effect.

As for the Bill, the Government shares its objectives to increase transparency on insurance companies reducing premiums as a result of the personal injuries guidelines. At the heart of this debate is better understanding all the different costs that make up the price of premiums. It is important that these costs are not singled out as the silver bullet in solving all the problems in the sector but examined in their overall contribution to premium pricing. Ireland has a sophisticated transparency system in place to monitor insurance pricing and I welcome suggestions to improve it. My officials in the Department of Finance are actively exploring ways to do this and they will be taken into consideration along with the principles in this Bill when we bring forward legislation on the insurance sector in the autumn.

Regarding transparency, first, I wish to highlight that the Central Bank produces a national claims information database, which has been referred to, the equivalent of which is not available in most other EU countries. Second, it will produce its first ever report in this area on employer and public liability in June or July this year, which will be a major help to us in legislating. In addition, during July it will produce its review on differential pricing. We want to see the outcome of that review so we can incorporate what is necessary in the legislation we will bring forward in the autumn.

Third, the third annual report on motor insurance premiums will be produced in September. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, produces figures on insurance prices on a quarterly basis and the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, produces regular public reports. The likes of that organisation do not exist anywhere else. There is no PIAB in the UK producing public and transparent information on an annual basis. In addition, chief executives of several major insurance companies have appeared before the Oireachtas committee in recent weeks, which highlights the level of public scrutiny of this matter. In September, the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 will ensure that all insurance companies sending out renewals for motor insurance must give the five-year history of their insurance premiums. The level of transparency in Ireland is unparalleled in the EU and our neighbouring jurisdiction.

The Bill is concerned with oversight, with which we agree. That is what we will be doing as part of our legislation. I will not dwell on particular aspects of the Bill except to say that we will take on board in a positive manner the principles behind it when we are drafting legislation as part of the action plan for insurance.

Something else that will lead to cost reductions is combating the number of uninsured drivers on the road, which add at least €30 to every policy. Recently, we concluded public consultation on PIAB. Its like does not exist in any neighbouring country. We hope to have legislation on the reform of PIAB in the autumn. Recently, the Department of Justice completed a review of the Occupiers' Liability Act, including the duty of care and notices and waivers, in order to increase protections for consumers, businesses, sporting clubs and community groups. I understand that work is continuing on a formal proposal to the Government on proposed legislative changes in that regard. The Criminal Justice (Perjury and Related Offences) Bill 2018 recently passed all Stages in the Dáil and I hope that it will be passed by the Seanad shortly.

I have listed five or six elements that will contribute to a reduction in the cost of premiums. Passing legislation to isolate one element only while ignoring the other factors seems to demonstrate a limited understanding of the dynamics underpinning the cost of insurance. If the judicial guidelines were all that we were reliant on to reduce premiums, I could understand why we would consider this Bill. However, I have given one example of the myriad actions being taken by the Government. To isolate one element and ignore others that will also contribute to cost reductions does not reflect what is happening.

The approach the Bill uses to seek to hold insurers to account seems inadequate, as we already have a unique resource in this country, that being, the Central Bank's national claims information database, which provides a level of information that is not available in many other areas. We must wait for the three reports that will come from the Central Bank, not next year or this autumn, but this summer, so that a good and broad-based discussion on insurance can be enabled when we return in the autumn. Everyone would agree with that instead of believing that there is only one show in town and one silver bullet. We have many strings to our bow when it comes to dealing with this issue.

There is a perception that the Bill simply reflects recent legislation passed in the UK, as mentioned this evening, and that, given that many insurers operate in both markets, providing the information in Ireland should not be an issue for them. However, the Bill goes much further than the UK requirements. It appears to be a much more cumbersome exercise than in the UK and ignores the fact that we already have a superior capacity to monitor claims costs and pricing trends through the national claims information database. We have a level of transparency that does not exist in other countries.

The forthcoming reports will feed into the work that is under way in the Department on considering a number of potential legislative measures relating to consumer matters, including the two Bills that the Deputy introduced in recent times. That said, we should not lose sight of the fact that the Government has developed a comprehensive whole-of-government action plan for insurance reform that addresses insurance issues in a structured and targeted manner and that we are already holding the insurance industry to account in terms of passing on savings arising from the reforms delivered to date.

I commend the amendment to the House.

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