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

I thank the Deputy for highlighting the situation for motor insurance policies and for van drivers. The man or woman with the van, as the case may be, is a key priority for the Government because they are the small employers or self-employed people who are the backbone of many industries in locations throughout the country.

What I will say is that, in July, before the recess, we met with PIAB and it said the early indications of settlements at that stage were they were being implemented by the insurance companies and by PIAB in line with the new judicial guidelines that had been published towards the end of April. The rate of acceptance will depend on how many people choose to take those to court, and we will be seeking updated information on that now that they have been in operation for a couple of months.

The benefit of all of this is that it will ultimately lead to a reduced number of actions going to court and the consequent legal costs will reduce as well. That should feed further into price reductions for motorists.

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