Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

There is very grim reading for motorists today. Motor insurance is up a whopping 9% in just 12 months. It is now at its highest level in five years and more than double the EU average. There is no mystery as to what is driving this. It is profiteering, plain and simple, off the back of ordinary people trying to get to work and get their kids to school. Insurance companies here boast profits above and beyond what they make elsewhere, with profit margins two and three times the industry average. All the while, the Government stands impotent on the sidelines. Savings arising from reforms passed by the Dáil have not been passed on to customers. Instead, insurance companies are lining their pockets, and it has been a bonanza for them. Why does the Government continue to block Sinn Féin legislation that will ensure savings go back to customers and not into the pockets of the insurance companies?

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