Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the Minister being in the House to listen to the issue I am raising and give me a reply, as I know he has an extremely busy schedule. I am not bringing this up to have a go at the Government in any way but because we need to tackle the insurance business, as the Minister knows. We recently had a major discussion in this House about the cost of motor insurance in particular. There was widespread agreement on the motion brought forward by Deputy Michael McGrath and that something needed to be done. The Government did not oppose it.

Recently, I was contacted by a constituent with a serious problem gaining an insurance quotation for a new wheelchair-accessible taxi. Last December, he was quoted €1,250 and he applied for a grant scheme made available by the Government to enable him enter the business and provide a badly needed wheelchair-accessible taxi in the Roscommon-Leitrim area. He recently tried to gain insurance after being granted the public service vehicle, PSV, licence but found that no insurance company in the country was willing to insure a new wheelchair-accessible taxi or a new PSV licenceholder. I will not name companies but I am told one of them is the sponsor of the Irish Paralympic team, which makes the story worse. That company is not willing to quote a driver of a new wheelchair-accessible taxi. It is important to point out the gentleman in question has an impeccable driving record, with no blemish whatever. His history is second to none.

I spoke to the Irish Wheelchair Association about this and it confirmed that the problem of a lack of insurance for vehicles is causing untold hardship for wheelchair users. My constituent contacted the Irish Insurance Federation and, with the help of my constituency office, forced an insurance provider to give him a quotation. In December 2015, the man was quoted €1,250 but after much effort, he received a quotation of €12,100. That is so great, the man can only pay it with monthly instalments.

The Irish Wheelchair Association told me there are 30% fewer wheelchair-accessible taxis on the road now because of an untenable insurance cost. On the one hand, we give a grant for people to enter the wheelchair-accessible taxi business to provide a better service for wheelchair users but, on the other, we are letting insurance companies away without providing insurance for badly needed taxis.

A side issue arose while we investigated this. Bus Éireann has invested quite considerably in wheelchair-accessible buses but there is no wheelchair-accessible bus stop outside Dublin. I appreciate that the Minister's office has given me a comprehensive answer on that issue. The main issue is the scandalous way insurance companies are carrying on. I was told recently that the claims issue has reduced considerably over the past year or so. It should not, therefore, be a major factor. I await the Minister's reply and thank him for it.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Eugene Murphy for raising this very important issue.

It is very useful to get specifics in the way the Deputy has given them. I share the Deputy's view of the insurance industry, if my understanding of his view is correct. Its behaviour in certain areas is inexplicable, as is the way companies are putting up premiums for reasons that are not quite apparent. The reasons they are giving for this are less than convincing. It is very helpful to talk in specifics like that. I am not sure whether the Deputy was talking about the same person when he spoke about someone whose premium was €1,250 being subjected to an increase that brought it straight to €12,100-----

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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Yes.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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-----but if that is the case it is absolutely outrageous. I assure the Deputy that, while I know there is a task force looking at it, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is also looking at it, consequent to a meeting, although this is basically a finance matter. The Minister for Justice and Equality and I are also planning to meet Insurance Ireland and the insurance industry to challenge them on issues such as that. I would be very happy to bring that along to our first meeting if Deputy Murphy would give me the example. It is a stunning example, with the price being multiplied by ten, so it is something we can challenge them on. If we could use the name in the example, I would be grateful, but if we cannot, we will just use the example. I do not doubt the Deputy's bona fides at all and it is very useful to get something quite so personal and obviously unjustifiable. One cannot possibly justify putting up insurance premiums by ten times in such a short period, whatever has happened in the meantime.

Let me first discuss the motor insurance issue which is affecting all drivers and having a particular impact in the taxi and hackney market. The Deputy will be aware that the Minister for Finance has established a task force to review policy in the insurance sector. As part of its work, the task force is examining the factors that have led to significant increases in motor insurance costs in recent times and will be recommending steps to influence the situation. The Deputy may also be aware that Insurance Ireland operates a declined cases agreement and that the Central Bank requires all motor insurers in Ireland to sign up to this agreement as part of their authorisation process for running an insurance business. Insurance Ireland also operates a free insurance information service for people who have queries or difficulties in obtaining insurance. If someone cannot get a motor insurance quotation or feels that the premium proposed or the terms are so excessive that it amounts to a refusal to provide motor insurance, he or she should contact Insurance Ireland. I do not know whether the person did so in this case, but it would be interesting to know what happened if so. This is a case of charging so much that it is akin to refusing insurance.

The National Transport Authority, NTA, as the statutory regulator of the taxi and hackney industry, is aware that the rising costs of motor insurance for drivers generally are also affecting the taxi and hackney industry. There are reports of large increases for existing policy holders and significant difficulties in obtaining insurance for new operators.

The NTA understands that some insurance companies are seeking that drivers have a number of years’ experience operating small public service vehicles as a policy condition, which creates a major impediment for new entrants. In addition, the information available to the NTA suggests that quotes for new policies, where available, can be several thousand euros. According to the NTA, the issue does not relate to the vehicle type but relates instead to new drivers who wish to enter the industry. As practically all new taxi or hackney licences are issued for wheelchair-accessible vehicles, most intending new operators will be looking to insure a wheelchair-accessible vehicle.

The number of companies providing insurance to the taxi industry in Ireland is low and there are fewer than existed some years ago. A UK entity commenced issuing insurance policies in the taxi area earlier this month on a pilot basis, and this is a welcome development, as it will add competition to this market and provide an additional insurance option. I suspect that is on a very small scale at the moment, but I do not know. The implications of the current insurance difficulties are of concern. The State has invested in a grant scheme to support more wheelchair-accessible vehicles in the fleet, so the difficulty experienced by new operators in obtaining insurance is very unhelpful. I will finish up. Can I go on?

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The Minister has half a minute, because we are over time.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I am sorry. I will take half a minute. I welcome the confirmation by my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, during a Dáil debate on a Private Members' motion in June that the issue of motor Insurance for taxi and hackney drivers will be addressed by the task force. That task force will carry out its work in consultation with bodies such as the Central Bank, relevant Departments, and other stakeholders. My Department is arranging for the NTA to provide all relevant information on the taxi sector and assistance to the task force in its work.

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister's honest and frank answer here this evening. I also welcome his use of the word "challenge" in respect of the insurance industry, because that is what we need. The Minister is correct. The client who was quoted €1,250 in December 2015 for a wheelchair-accessible taxi is the same guy who, a few weeks ago, was quoted €12,100, after serious pressure from the Irish Insurance Federation. I will have no difficulty in handing this over to the Minister to use at whatever meetings he will be attending.

To repeat what was said on every side of the House when this debate came up in recent weeks, we have an enormous difficulty with the insurance business. The Minister knows this himself. I am sure he has constituents who are being quoted outrageous figures for insurance. Young people, in general, go through a very rigid test in this country. They have to do their theory test and their driving lessons and then they have to sit their test. Before they ever have an offence, they are being quoted €4,000, €5,000 or €6,000 to insure a vehicle. It is outrageous when these are people who do not have a blemish on their record. That is something that should be challenged as well.

Also, the wheelchair-accessible taxi insurance business is being very badly hit. I have no doubt that the Minister will pick this up, fight it and seek changes, but in one respect the Motor Insurance Advisory Board that was there did a pretty good job, and maybe when we get this debated a situation could arise whereby we could get that board back in place. We need to do something with the insurance companies. They are out of control. In respect of wheelchair-accessible taxis, one of those insurance companies is the sponsor of the Paralympics and it still will not give a quote for insurance to a wheelchair-accessible taxi. It is outrageous.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The Deputy has pointed out a very interesting and telling second example. If that company is the sponsor, it is quite extraordinary. It is a good discovery. I am not quite sure what we can actually do with that except publicise it and ask them about the inconsistency in their position, which is obviously true. I will take that example from Deputy Murphy, or he can send it to me, and I will certainly use it, because it is such a stunning example. The insurance industry does give plenty of reasons as to why it puts its premiums up so much. Many of them look to me like camouflage and that is why the Government has set up a task force. It is imperative that we get to the bottom of this and find the real reasons, because they seem to be confusing. Nobody has been able to put his or her finger on one reason and say "This is it", which makes one very suspicious that there is something not particularly acceptable going on.

The Deputy also asked about accessible bus stops. Accessibility improvements to public transport services are being advanced in the context of my Department's sectoral plan under the Disability Act 2005, Transport Access for All. I understand the Deputy’s point about the need to increase the number of accessible bus stops on the network, particularly in rural areas. It is a fair point: accessibility is far better in the cities than in rural areas, and we will have to address that gap. This is something the NTA and Bus Éireann are working on to deliver now that a very high proportion of the bus fleet itself has been made accessible.

During 2016 the NTA is beginning the installation of wheelchair-accessible bus stops across the Bus Éireann network. The long-term objective is to install a wheelchair-accessible bus stop in every town in the State. The NTA is rolling this out on a route-by-route basis. The first routes are Bus Éireann routes 30, Dublin to Donegal, and 32, Dublin to Letterkenny. More generally, on public transport accessibility, there has been considerable progress in upgrading the infrastructure and facilities, including the fact that full accessibility is built into all new public transport infrastructure projects. One hundred percent of the Dublin Bus fleet is wheelchair-accessible; 100% of the Bus Éireann city fleet is wheelchair-accessible; approximately 80% of Bus Éireann PSO coaches are wheelchair-accessible by lift, and this will increase as the coach fleet is replaced; and 79 of the 143 railway stations have received accessibility upgrades, with ongoing work at four stations and a programme to improve accessibility across a further 54 stations.