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

In certain cases, local authorities may not want to get involved but sometimes they can be pushed. This is especially true for semi-public areas but whether they can be taken in charge by local authorities is a separate issue.

Regarding new insurance businesses in Ireland, I joined IDA Ireland at a conference last Tuesday in Amsterdam at which the agency was meeting potential new clients. I also met a large American insurance company this week. I will not put its name on the record of the House today but it has started business in Ireland in recent weeks. It has taken some of the play activities under its wing and is now writing insurance in that area. It will provide cover for organisations when their next annual premium is due. I am not sure what month of the year that will be but the company is already in the market.

The main issue is that once we get the judicial guidelines settled by the courts and the duty of care legislation passed, people will know where they stand. The insurance companies say that the one thing they cannot cope with is uncertainty and there has been a lot of uncertainty in the insurance market until now. IDA Ireland is saying that now that there is some certainty in the Irish market, it can sell Ireland internationally and can invite insurance companies in whereas two years ago, it could not have done so. It can now actively try to attract more companies into the country and while that can be a long process, all of the signals are good. We want to see a reduction in premiums.

See this speech in context