Results 14,821-14,840 of 26,053 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell
- Seanad: Commencement Matters: Road Projects (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: I welcome the Minister to the House. Once again, I am raising the matter of the upgrading and building of the M20 motorway between Limerick and Cork. I am a public representative, representing Limerick city and a portion of the county. It is the single biggest item of infrastructure that needs to be completed in the State. I have raised this issue with the Minister on numerous occasions,...
- Seanad: Commencement Matters: Road Projects (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: I will go straight to the heart of the matter. In November 2011 the project was suspended. From discussions with officials, I understand that at that stage the bulk of the planning process, if not the entire process, had been completed and that the project was just about to be referred to An Bord Pleanála. Will the Minister allow the planning process to re-engage, which would amount...
- Seanad: Commencement Matters: Road Projects (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: I thank the Minister. That is a positive move. He will find that the planning process was at an extremely advanced stage and that this would represent value for the taxpayer.
- Seanad: Action Plan for Education: Statements (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Bruton, to the Chamber. He pioneered the action plan with the Action Plan for Jobs. As a way of a Department doing business, it was revolutionary at the time. He is bringing that same methodology to the Department of Education and Skills. It is slightly different in that the Action Plan for Jobs in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation was very...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: In terms of regulation, is there any difference between Solvency I and Solvency II in terms of the regulation of insurance companies from Ireland?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: In his statement, Dr. Roux said, "the Solvency II directive squarely places the sole responsibility of financial supervision of foreign firms on foreign regulators". Has there been any change since Solvency I?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: That is fine. Under Solvency I, insurers were required to invest in relatively risk-free investments. Am I correct?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: What does Solvency II allow?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: We are dealing with people on the ground and the problem is in some cases, motor insurance premiums have gone through the roof. Is some cases, they will not even quote for motor insurance. The new Solvency II came in from 1 January 2016. Dr. Roux said he had seen no discernible change in the profile of investments.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: Is it possible that insurance companies are effectively increasing motor insurance premiums to build up the reserves to enable them to change the diversity of their investment portfolios?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: Do they have the reserves to change their investment profiles to more risky investments? Do they have the reserves available? What ratios of reserves are they required to have under Solvency II that would not have been required under Solvency I?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: So it is a risk-weighted model.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: The devil is in the detail. As it stands, would the level of reserves the insurance companies are holding enable them to diversify their portfolios of investments to riskier types of investments?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: As far as I am concerned, share capital and reserves are all capital. They cannot increase their share capital. The only way they can increase their capital is to increase their reserves. The only way they can increase their reserves is by increasing their profits. The only way they can increase their profits is by charging higher premiums.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: Does Dr. Roux think the increase in premiums has nothing to do with Solvency II?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: They are two sides of the same coin.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: I would prefer a short answer.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: Fine. I would also like to ask about the losses in the companies. In total, how many companies are operating in the motor insurance market in Ireland at the moment?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: How many of them are regulated by the Central Bank?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Costs of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Oct 2016)
Kieran O'Donnell: That basically means 14 companies are not regulated.