Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution to the Bill. The cost of insurance, as we all know, is one of the most frequently recurring matters raised with us as politicians and with policymakers by both individuals and businesses. To that end, effective insurance reform and the speed of that reform should be at the forefront of the work carried out by the Government. While we do not oppose the legislation, as my colleague has advised, or its provisions, it must be pointed out that what is before us, particularly the measures relating to business interruption claims and dual pricing, is little more than window dressing. The measures, as my colleague, an Teachta Doherty, has indicated, are nothing more than an information-gathering exercise rather than effective measures to tackle what we know is happening, which we can refer to colloquially as price gouging or whatever other way we wish to put it. There is nothing effective in the legislation that will actually make a difference.

I welcome the Central Bank regulations banning price walking from 1 July, but that is being done by the Central Bank independently. This is something we in Sinn Féin have campaigned to ban for quite some time.

It is important to see a multidepartmental approach to tackling issues relating to the insurance sector.

Recently, at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, we discussed the general scheme of the personal injuries resolution board Bill 2022. The policy objective of that Bill is to amend the legislation to facilitate an increase in the number of personal injury claims that may be resolved through the board. Tackling issues within the insurance sector across the board and in tandem is what individuals and businesses want and what is needed.

It would be remiss of me not to mention commitments previously made by the Minister of State not to let insurers off the hook for deducting State supports from business interruption payouts. This legislation does not respond to that development, unfortunately. The Minister of State spoke about this and his intention to tackle it. It is very disappointing that this has not manifested itself. Many businesses out there suffered significantly during the pandemic, and for them to see this legislation, it really will not cut it. Insurance companies did well throughout the pandemic. Despite the €20 One4All voucher given to people here and there, they did not give much back to drivers who could not travel throughout lockdown. The Minister needs to look at this section again and include measures to sanction insurers that continue or start this practice on the commencement of the legislation. The finance committee recommended this in its pre-legislative scrutiny report on the Bill, and it is unfortunate that it has not been included in the final draft of the legislation.

A number of people have raised with me an issue that has become even more pertinent as we move into the summer months. People with full driver licences who do not have insurance policies because they do not own cars face difficulties with short-term leasing of vehicles which require a no-claims bonus or proof of previous driving record as part of the hiring process. These people who rent cars or car-share do not own cars and do not have the capacity to build up no-claims bonuses because they do not have ongoing insurance policies. I would very much welcome it if the Minister of State would investigate that matter.

The public and businesses are crying out for effective, efficient and expedient insurance reform from the Government. I hope the Minister of State heeds these calls on Committee and Report Stages and brings forward amendments to strengthen the Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill in that regard, or at the very least supports the amendments that will come from Sinn Féin.

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