Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister of State well. Most of what she said could have been written by the insurance industry. That is disappointing. We really need to work on this. It does not take much time. Industry profits are already being boosted. Personal injury awards are down by 38% in the book of quantum. It has already happened. The number of cases that went through the courts in the first nine months of last year averaged 223 per month, about one third of the monthly average in 2019. What are going up are profits. Some €176 million was made by the insurance industry, a 13% return, in 2021. They are taking us for fools. Talking about the Minister of State's expectation is not good enough. We need action.

When the British introduced reduced awards, they said companies would have to show how this is passed on, euro for euro. We have produced similar legislation for the Irish sector. It is before the finance committee. I encourage the Minister of State to support that legislation.

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