Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)

It is clear the cost of insurance is a rip-off. In advance of this motion, I spoke to my constituents. They have told me of the all too common story of insurance companies screwing them on premiums and renewals. To give an idea of this, one woman told me of how she faces an increase of over €600 between her car and home insurance renewals this year. She did not get a chance to speak to her insurance company before her policy renewed because a family member had passed away. Another man told me of how his car insurance renewal was close to double his previous premium despite having no convictions, penalty points or claims. It is clear large profits are being made off the backs of ordinary people while insurance companies face little accountability. Why is the Government letting them off the hook?

This motion is an opportunity for the Government to progress practical proposals to hold insurance companies to account. We have seen the previous reforms of lower costs for insurance companies but unsurprisingly these savings have not been passed on to customers. That is why we are calling on the Government to progress our legislation that will hold insurance companies accountable for not passing on cost savings. Why is the Government against this accountability when it could deliver savings for people?

The motion comes at a time when many families are facing skyrocketing costs across the board. I am not sure if the Government realises this. It seems to be totally out of touch with the reality that we have a cost-of-living crisis. I have people coming into my office every week telling me they cannot pay their bills. These are people who are working hard and families with two incomes who are really struggling to get by. We see the Government has refused to tackle rip-off insurance costs, has refused to tackle energy suppliers and is refusing to give people any kind of short-term relief whatever by ruling out a cost-of-living package in this year’s budget. How does the Government expect people to cope with all these price rises when it is refusing to directly support them in the budget? I am calling on it to stand on the side of workers and families to protect them from the rising cost of living and to stop companies from gouging these people.

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