Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State would not agree because it is very clear from what she is saying that she is going to take very little action. Two years on, claims and awards have fallen dramatically. Does the Minister of State know what has gone up? It is the profits of the insurance industry. The industry combined made €176 million in 2021, which is a 13% increase and the highest figure in a decade. That is what is happening. The industry is laughing because the Government is not going to take any action. Across the water, when awards fell, the Government made sure that the insurance companies were not pocketing the benefit but passing it on to consumers. Motorists, businesses, community groups and sporting organisations are being fleeced. There has been no reduction there whatsoever. We need the Government to act. I have legislation. I am happy to work with the Minister of State to amend it but it requires transparency. It requires the insurance companies to show, through audited evidence, that they have passed on the benefits of the reforms passed in this House. When awards are reducing, we expect the benefits to be passed on to consumers rather than to be pocketed by the industry.

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