Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to discuss insurance reform again. The cost of living has spiked as a result of high energy prices and supply chain issues, but many have been struggling under the high costs long before the recent wave of inflation. The Minister of State will be aware of all the times we discussed this in the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach going back years. Soaring insurance costs have been putting people, drivers, businesses and community groups under severe pressure for years. The Government has dragged its feet every step of the way. The Minister of State outlined measures, which I welcome, but it must be acknowledged that if it were not for Deputy Pearse Doherty, people would be paying even higher amounts than they are paying now for their insurance.

However, that journey must continue. The reforms that have been made to date have been welcome but they have mainly been to the benefit of the insurance companies rather than of the consumers, those who matter most. The consumers are continuously fleeced with insurance. We have to remember that many people who have had genuine accidents do not claim because they are afraid that their premiums will escalate. Businesses that have incidents for which they would be fully entitled to claim do not do so because, again, they are afraid that their insurance premiums will escalate. That has to stop. One has to ask in that case: what are they paying insurance for?

Despite promises in election manifestos and the programme for Government, we still only have a general scheme on reforming the duty of care. There must be more urgency. We know that small businesses, sporting organisations and community groups continue to close or to struggle due to the lack of affordable insurance. We need only look around our localities to see the trans-generational businesses that have been forced to close down due to extortionate insurance costs. These are businesses that have survived recessions and many challenges over the years, yet we have enabled insurance companies to close them down. Premiums are often multiplied without any basis whatsoever. When profitable, established businesses struggle with the cost of insurance, so do sporting organisations and community groups, but what chance do they have? It is a major threat to our communities, small towns and, indeed, our bigger towns as well as to jobs and the economy. Recent research by the Alliance for Insurance Reform showed that 42% of organisations state that the cost of insurance premiums is threatening their future and 90% state that the Government is not doing enough. When 90% state that the Government is not doing enough, we need to listen and see what more needs to be done.

Many Members will have visited Delphi Adventure Centre over the years. This is one business that is crippled by insurance costs, with a 300% increase since 2019 and an excess of up to €20,000, despite having an excellent safety record. When businesses see the percentages quoted in this House and the illusion that the prices are coming down, they cannot reconcile that with the bills they are faced with. If the Government wants the State to recover from all the current challenges for our SMEs and community and voluntary organisations, it has to get insurance reform resolved. That means it must get insurance companies to pass on the benefits to customers. The sticking point is clear to everybody. The companies are not passing it on in the way they need to. They are still price gouging and accumulating huge profits. Data from the Personal Injuries Assessment Board show the average value of awards falling by 42% in 2021 since the introduction of the new guidelines, yet liability premiums continued to increase by 16%.

I recently conducted a survey of apprentices across the country on the cost-of-living pressures they face. Despite rent soaring and fuel costs, car insurance continued to stand out as one of the biggest issues for young people attempting to get a trade. We desperately need these trades. In a rural constituency such as Mayo, where people have no alternative, car insurance is not an optional extra but an integral part of employment, self-employment and educational attainment. People are experiencing it all over the country. Even in Dublin, electricians from Dublin responded to the survey by saying that they cannot afford a car with the current insurance prices so they have to carry a 25 kg toolbag on public transport for several hours a day. Some do not even have that option. A pipe fitter from Offaly was one respondent. He is 19 years old and he said insurance costs are too much so he has to pay somebody to bring him to his job and bring him home. There are no bus routes, so driving is the only option.

We need to listen to them and we have to do more. We have to do more for the apprentices, young drivers and businesses across the board. Little reductions here and there are not having the impact that we require. Since 2009 the cost of insurance has gone up by 25% despite the average claims costs falling by 29%. For years the insurance industry has got away with stating it is because claims are too high, too many people are claiming and the like. It has been exposed continually. That is why the Government must stand up to the insurance companies once and for all and provide proper reform of the legislation. I will leave the Minister of State with one question. Why is the Government opposing the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021? That would do exactly what is necessary here. People need an explanation for that. We must do far more to stand up to the insurance companies. They are running rings around us. They have done that for years in terms of the lack of transparency of data across the board and basically closing the market. They have had it their way for too long. We have to stand up to them and show them who is boss.

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