Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish our visitors from Cork the best of luck today. Unfortunately, I think the Dubs might have the measure of Cork this weekend, but I would say that, would I not? I really appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I am on the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach of which Deputy Paul Murphy was previously a member. This is an issue that has come before us and the Minister of State has given us a great deal of time, as have his ministerial colleagues, to debate it.

It is not a new issue. I remember when I first got involved in politics and joined a party just under 20 years ago, the first campaign I was involved in related to the motor insurance rip-off relating to young drivers and how students, like myself at the time, people of 17, 18, 19 and 20 who, unfortunately, had to drive cars in order to simply get to college or to our part-time jobs were prohibited from doing so. It was quite clear that buying a car was much cheaper than getting it insured for a year. That is why, as a Member of the Seanad, I was very supportive of the setting-up of the working group on insurance reform.

I am grateful to see that motor insurance costs have reduced by 40%. However, it is disappointing - and we can all share in this disappointment regardless of our ideological approach to this debate - that we have not seen that replicated to the same extent in health insurance and home insurance. There are a range of sectors, to which other Deputies have already alluded in this debate, we all have individual experience of in our constituencies. We all deal with constituency groups, businesses and individuals who either cannot get insurance or for whom it is so prohibitive that it is not an option for them to proceed with the event in question. They may have to alter the event or completely reassess their business model.

Many of us spent this afternoon meeting the Federation of Early Childhood Providers. Some of us went to the audiovisual room for its presentation. Insurance costs for businesses in the early years sector, whether Montessori schools, crèches or preschools, are a contributing factor to the lack of availability and opportunities for those looking for childcare for those of preschool age, which, in turn, has a great impact on the wider economy and wider society. There has been an element of relief but it is still one of the massive barriers for people seeking to set up their own childcare facilities. We can talk about obstacles such as finding the space, getting planning permission or being able to meet the costs in the context of the rising costs of utilities or to work within the fairly meagre allocation of funding from central government, particularly when it comes to those who are solely involved in the early childhood care and education scheme, but insurance is definitely a major factor. It is a consideration for people, including the five providers in my local area that are more than likely going to close this year even though they do not want to. They have full lists but it is a question of whether it is better to keep the facility open or to look elsewhere. That is a common issue around the country and not unique to my constituency or the greater Dublin area.

One of the other areas that has been referred to is that of festivals, event hire and so on. My own local GAA club has had to completely change its family fun day on Saturday because it cannot afford the insurance that goes with bouncy castles and other inflatables - the normal things kids find so much fun in. As someone who has children of that age, I can tell you that there is definitely a black market for those trying to get a bouncy castle for a birthday party or a first holy communion because they are in such short supply. Again, it comes down to insurance costs being so prohibitive. Companies are simply not prepared to go into this area. These are the areas the Minister of State has undertaken to work on. They are the clear, obvious and practical areas about which people are coming into my office. They are the areas in which parents, children, families and community groups are being robbed of the opportunity to do very basic things.

This leads on to the more commercial scale and the ability to open children's play centres and various other activities in our communities. Many such facilities had to close down during the pandemic for understandable reasons but many have not reopened and will not reopen. There is now a dearth of such facilities. Despite all the other rising costs, insurance is still the greatest barrier. It is not simply a recreational matter. These are good businesses that employ a lot of local people, particularly on a part-time basis, including students and others. It is an issue across the country whether in Bray, Wicklow town or Dundrum and Stillorgan in my constituency. They are missed by a great many people. It is an area we need to continue to work on.

As I have mentioned, we have seen great progress with regard to motor insurance but a lot more can be done. I do not fault the industry.

4 o’clock

I do not fault customers or the businesses that need to get the insurance or indeed the lawyers and judges who are working in this sphere because it is something that needs a complete response and the Government alone cannot do it. I appreciate the legislative moves and the interventions that have been made but they are still a factor.

I am not going to do down the insurance industry. The insurance industry is a vital part of our economy which provides a really important service and employs tens of thousands of people either directly or as brokers or otherwise and we need that industry. With the post-Brexit economic diversification of our economy, we have seen large-scale insurance jobs move from the City of London to Dublin to continue to have access to the European Single Market. That is a boon. These are really good jobs ensuring people can live good lives and contribute back to the economy. We need to work with companies and the providers but it comes back to the core areas.

When he is wrapping up, I ask the Minister of State to provide a breakdown. Each of us has raised individual areas and given examples of clubs, festivals or businesses in our own community. I do not expect him to provide specific answers on the Fettercairn festival or Ballinteer St. John's GAA club but they are all very distinct sectors.

At one stage only one brokerage was providing insurance for early years education, bringing in options from the UK for early years providers, including crèches and Montessori schools. Insurance needs to be provided to early years providers, festivals, events, youth resources and the child entertainment sector. We also have traditional insurance that everyone thinks about such as home, health and car insurance. We need more than one approach to address the overall insurance area. We need to see the same success we have seen in the motor industry come into early years sector and festival insurance.

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