Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

As we conclude the debate, I want to acknowledge that the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, and his officials who have been listening throughout this debate. I want to bring us all back to the essentials we are discussing here today which is that insurance is not abstract. It is a daily reality for every motorist, every small business and every household. It is the guarantee that if the worst happens - a car crash, a workplace accident or a flood - there will be compensation and life can move forward. When the cost of that guarantee spirals, however, it burdens families, suppresses entrepreneurship and damages competitiveness.

According to the National Claims Information Database - many Deputies have referenced the NCID today - which is an independent verified database by the Central Bank, marked in 2023 that the first return to profitability for the insurance market occurred after years of losses. Liability insurance recorded a 13% operating profit in 2023, though the long-term average is just 2.1%. Motor insurance has shown an 8% profit with a long-term average of 5%. Global conditions in 2023 reflected a hard market with high premiums and reinsurance cost, yet Ireland's reforms have shielded many policyholders from sharper increases seen elsewhere. In 2024, conditions began to soften with competition, increasing with some premiums' reductions emerging but vigilance and reform momentum remain essential.

I want to stress the importance of having a stable and profitable sector, made up of both domestic and international firms which seek to supply the needs of all sectors within society. In this regard, one of the key priorities of the Government's new action plan is in ensuring a greater level of transparency in all aspects of our insurance market. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, is very much to the fore in this regard. When reforms have shifted behaviour, such as through the Injuries Resolution Board and the personal injuries guidance, costs and delays have fallen. Where litigation still dominates, the old inefficiencies remain and this is the challenge we all face.

I want to briefly touch on the matter of health insurance which has been raised in the debate today. Although this matter is primarily for the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, the Government will continue to engage closely with her and her Department to ensure the insurance framework supports patients and maintains public confidence. Ireland's private health insurance system is built on the principles of both fairness and equity, community rating, open enrolment, lifetime cover and minimum benefit. The minimum benefit regulation ensures every consumer has access to a guaranteed baseline of hospital treatment cover, regardless of the plan type they hold. While insurers make their own commercial decisions on which service and provider to cover, they must do so within the framework and are regulated by the Health Insurance Authority.

That said, patients are strongly encouraged to check their cover in advance of the treatment so they have clarity and can avoid unexpected costs. The new action plan is designed to target this gap directly and commits to transparency for consumers through a transparency code, faster national claims, information database releases and also access to legal cost data.

We are also strengthening the Injuries Resolution Board with default mediation, remittal powers and potential legal fee awards to encourage uptake on legal cost reform or including benchmarking awards and reviewing the judicial courts Act in developing scales of fees for litigation. On competition, through the expanded OPCIM, we are streamlining authorisation and EU engagement. On fraud reductions, we are strengthening penalties, Garda industry intelligence sharing and measures against uninsured drivers. As regards climate resilience, we have a long-term flood insurance strategy linked between public investment and coverage to build back better incentives.

Implementation is an all-of-government approach with oversight by the Cabinet subcommittee chaired by the Tánaiste. Work has already been put in place. This delivers for SMEs in hospitality, retail and construction with fewer shop premium hikes, clearer liability costs and a more stable operating environment. For motorists, we have transparency in pricing, swifter claims and less exposure to excessive legal costs, and for insurers and investors, a disciplined, predictable market reducing risk and enabling innovation. Insurance is not a luxury; it is a pillar of economic confidence and by cutting costs and promoting transparency and opening the market, we reduce burdens on families, support businesses and enhance Ireland's attractiveness as a hub for financial services.

Our message is very clear to our citizens and to the markets. Ireland is not standing by. We are reforming and embedding transparency, discipline and fairness into our insurance system. We are determined to shift from a cycle of rising premiums to a more sustainable, resilient insurance market. Insurance must protect and facilitate not penalise. With this action plan, we can ensure it does that today, tomorrow and into the future.

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