Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One of the problems we consistently have is that the Minister of State continues to be almost a spokesperson for the insurance industry. He did it again. When I asked him whether the insurance industry is taking a hand at the Government he said he was not happy with the rate of decreases. Where are the decreases? This is the problem. Does the Minister of State not know what is happening out there, right here and right now? The most recent data from the national claims information database on public liability, which is what we are speaking about, shows that in 2022 it increased by 8%. Motor insurance fell for a couple of years but it in no way went back to where it was.

The CSO has shown that for every month over the past ten months, insurance has increased. It has increased by 6.1% since 2022. What is the Minister of State speaking about when he says he wants to see the rate of decrease escalate? What is happening out there is that the rates are increasing. This is why I am asking. When Deputy Varadkar said he was giving six months to the insurance industry to cut costs or else, it was in 2019. When he stood in the Dáil in the convention centre-----

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