Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)

It seems desperately unfair that the runaway house prices across the State have led to an increase in home insurance costs. Home insurance is becoming a real problem meaning that some struggling families opt to underinsure their home or go without insurance altogether. The consequences of families taking a chance and foregoing home insurance played out earlier this year when Storm Éowyn arrived on our shores. Families without insurance were left relying on the state to step in and cover the cost of storm damage where pay outs from the humanitarian assistance scheme from Storm Éowyn already totalled €13.6 million. We end up paying one way or the other if people cannot afford home insurance and that is just not on.

For those who could afford home insurance in my constituency of Mayo, one of the counties most affected by the defective concrete blocks and pyrite scandal, this defect was not even covered in their policies so they must rely on State assistance under the defective concrete blocks scheme, which is also mired in controversy and payout delays.

I know that since I started in the Seanad at least, Deputy Doherty was leading from the Opposition in trying to tackle the cost of insurance. We have talked about it and talked about it. We have presented the solutions to Governments and told them what needed to be done across the board. We are now discussing this again today and how families who are really struggling are being ripped off. It is time to get those prices under control and give these workers and families a break. They cannot do that if they are being asked to pay this insurance. I have to go back to the defective concrete blocks situation and why we need a full public inquiry into what has happened there. All these people had their homes insured. Engineers were insured and there was insurance all around but not one of those insurance companies have paid out and the Government has not held them to account. It is time to hold the insurance companies to account.

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