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

I appreciate the opportunity to share a few brief thoughts on this extremely important legislation, which I of course welcome. More importantly, not only do I welcome it, but I sincerely hope we see its passage through the Houses extremely swiftly because it is important that we see this come into place.

We think back to 2016 and the establishment of the cost of insurance working group and the 66 actions now being taken in this area. All those actions need to be undertaken and completed to address the very real and genuine concern across the entire insurance sector, driven not only by the Minister of State's Department but also the Department of Finance and the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming. I very much welcome and will reflect on the impact the personal injuries guidelines and the work of PIAB have had. I truly hope that, with the introduction of this legislation and, in due course, the personal injuries resolution board, we will see a greater move towards mediation and the level of payouts that will in turn see prices drop. That is why we are all speaking about this. The huge concern across all sectors is that insurance was so high and the choices so limited that it was putting businesses out of action and making it impossible for people to do very ordinary things. We have seen limited success so far, particularly when it comes to motor insurance and the 46% drop in premiums across the board. It does not end there, however, because there are still many areas that simply have not caught up.

With your discretion and indulgence, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I will speak to one specific area where the prohibitive cost of insurance and the lack of choice in the insurance market are preventing businesses from staying open in the sector and new businesses from entering the sector. I am speaking of the area of childcare, specifically in respect of the provision of crèches and Montessori schools. Across the State we see people limited to one provider or one broker, and when that broker was not issuing new policies, they found themselves reliant on a British provider. There were so many schools and services across the country, no doubt in the Minister of State's constituency, just like in mine, that faced the very real prospect of having to pull out of the market. I do not know how it is in other constituencies, but certainly in mine, Dublin Rathdown, finding a place with a childcare provider, be it early years or after school, is extremely difficult. The prices are exorbitant. Only 81% of childcare providers in my constituency have signed up to the new funding model, Together for Better. That is a real challenge, and while there are many factors creating that challenge, the cost and lack of availability of insurance are among the most concerning. When we look at the whole area of insurance and, more generally, financial services and the options being provided to businesses and individuals in this State, we genuinely have to ask why we have such limited choice when we are part of the world's largest economic bloc, the Single Market. I know this is probably more in the area of the Department of Finance than in the Minister of State's Department but, with respect, more needs to be done not only to encourage our own providers to stay open but to attract other providers.

Post Brexit, understandably, a lot of fuss was made about the fact that so many financial services sector jobs, particularly in large insurance firms, were moving to Dublin because these firms wanted to ensure they could still passport into the Single Market. However, we are not seeing that trickle down to the individual choice of consumers, be they businesses or individuals, across all sectors. It is that choice in the market that will drive down premiums alongside reducing the level of payouts because the sector has not caught up with the legislation yet. We are not seeing enough premiums follow downwards. All the good work of PIAB and the personal injuries guidelines are not enough to drive down premiums. I sincerely hope this legislation, passed swiftly, will play another part in driving them down because some of the premiums businesses and individuals are being asked to pay in this State are absolutely scandalous. They would not be acceptable in other member states of the European Union. The sooner we as a Dáil collectively get behind legislation like this and pass it in a swift manner, the better.

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