Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to speak on the Bill. I thank everybody who has been involved in bringing it to where it is today, especially the former Minister of State, Deputy Troy, who presented it to the committee and championed the Bill. If implemented and resourced correctly, it has the potential to reduce the costs involved with insurance claims and pass on premium savings to customers.

The Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which I chair, in its report on the Bill, which was launched in July, recommended a swift passage of the Bill and urged that the concentrated focus on the different insurance reforms should continue. The committee report also said it was encouraging to see a new system of quantum of damages bringing down the level of settlements. However, the rates of litigation are still too high and the proposed Bill should allow more to be settled by PIAB. The committee report also stated that efforts must continue to achieve greater transparency in the sector, greater competition for the benefit of consumers and greater consistency in claims handling to reduce unnecessary costs.

The critical thing with the Bill is resources. At a time when families and businesses across the State are facing immense pressures due to rising energy and fuel costs, it is welcome that we have the opportunity to debate a Bill that should and must help to alleviate a particular expensive cost that businesses, house owners and motorists face, namely, insurance. The personal injuries guidelines have over the last year significantly reduced the cost of claims for insurance companies but it is vital that these reduced costs are passed on to customers, many of whom have been fleeced and gouged by some companies over the years. Premiums must be reduced for customers. Reducing costs for consumers, businesses and local sports and community groups has to be an outworking of this Bill. Reducing premiums is one of the key reasons we in Sinn Féin have worked, campaigned and lobbied so hard for insurance reform for years.

We welcome the main tenets of the Bill, namely, to increase the number of claims settled through PIAB so as to reduce expense, time and stress in many cases; to introduce the option of mediation in insurance claims, with parties given the option of consenting to mediation facilitated by the personal injuries resolution board, PIRB; and to allow for the assessment of more complex injury cases, including those of a psychological nature. These are welcome objectives. Its performance has shown that PIAB is a successful independent State body in assessing personal injury compensation claims.

Concerns have been raised in some quarters about whether the mediation option will add bureaucracy and costs to the PIAB process. We appreciate that concern and anticipate examining this aspect of the Bill in more detail via scrutiny on Committee Stage. As Deputy O’Reilly said, we will probably put down amendments. Ultimately, assessing insurance claims through PIAB is a quicker and cheaper option through which to make insurance claims. In 2020, it was estimated that the cost of litigation was €16,064 but that, if done through PIAB, the average cost is €841, which is a massive difference. From a time perspective, the amount of time to settle reduces on average from 4.2 years through litigation to 2.3 years through PIAB, which will greatly reduce the stress for people.

We in Sinn Féin have constantly advocated the strengthening of the powers of PIAB as a method of reducing the legal costs in claims settlement. This Bill is overall a positive step in the reform of the claims landscape following the adoption of the personal injuries guidelines in 2021. PIAB has shown itself to be successful in self-financing but it is important, if this Bill is enacted, that it continues to have the resources it needs to improve its performance and the volume of disputes it can assess, thereby avoiding costly litigation. Extending the authority of PIAB to resolve claims should result in further reductions in both time and cost of claims. When this is achieved, I repeat, these savings must result in reduced premiums.

I welcome the Bill. It will, of course, need further scrutiny on Committee Stage but it has the potential to introduce some positive changes, which is welcome. However, we still need action on premiums being charged by insurance companies as these are having a detrimental impact on many businesses and sporting and cultural organisations across the State. Any of us involved in local voluntary groups or community festivals will understand that many have been cancelled or reduced. I am involved in the St. Mary's festival, which had a regatta from the 1930s but, in the last couple of years, it has had to exclude children because the organisers could not get insurance at any cost. In conclusion, I commend the Alliance for Insurance Reform, my colleague, Deputy Doherty, who has championed insurance reform and others who have championed the need for insurance reform for many years. This is one step in that direction.

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