Results 7,101-7,120 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: On the first quarterly report, I acknowledge that three targets were missed. The key important measures, including establishment of the personal injuries commission and commencement of work on the national claims information database, which are important in the context of reform the industry, are making good progress. In regard to the three delayed measures, one has been recently completed...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: That is still under discussion.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: We are still engaged in that conversation with Insurance Ireland. That work is not yet completed. It is still in progress. When completed, I will update the Deputy on that matter.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Obviously, I cannot speak to an individual claimant in respect of his or her position with his or her solicitor or comment on the advice he or she is receiving. This is a very difficult situation for a number of people who have had claims in this area and who may have this uncertainty as to what will be recovered or what might be their liability. We are still in the early stages of working...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: We could not have legislated in advance of the court's decision. We had to wait for that decision before we could proceed. We are ready to move forward with the heads of a Bill by the end of this month. We also needed time to come to an agreement with the insurance industry in so far as ensuring that the uncertainty overhang which it claimed existed would not affect the new arrangement....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The liquidator is the Deloitte office in Malta. We communicate with it through the Dublin office. The office of the accountant of the High Court and the State Claims Agency are involved in doing that. We are still discussing the Setanta judgment because it will very much feed into our preparation for the heads of the Bill relating to the new compensation framework. As we seek to draft the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I know there are some incredibly difficult cases as a result of what happened with Setanta. I refer here to people who made claims and who are now uncertain as to what this will mean for them in the context of the difficulties they have endured and the costs they might be obliged to bear in the future regarding personal injuries or other difficult medical issues. It is a very difficult...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: It is not yet clear. However, to provide clarity in the context of expectations, it may be one or two years. What we need to do is make sure that this actuarial report that has been promised is compiled immediately and we can then move on from that. The State Claims Agency and the accountant of the High Court are talking to the liquidator. They are aware of the concerns on the Government...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: There is no particular date. The date is every six months from when a body takes the first drawdown. Under that process the liquidator takes a claim. The State Claims Agency verifies the claim and then brings it to the accountant of the High Court. The accountant of the High Court brings the claim to the High Court for the release of payment. The accountant of the High Court does that in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: Exactly, and in my replies to Deputy Pearse Doherty I indicated the size of the batch was circa 250. The details are being worked out. The Department will progress that almost immediately. That is what we are waiting to find out.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I do not want to say too much in respect of conversations that are being held at the moment. At the moment there is no flexibility, but we are seeking it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: A number of measures in the report published in January are being worked upon to deal with fraud. One of the big things we can do is remove the incentive for fraud. I am referring to the idea that a claimant can get a higher claim paid out more quickly in Ireland in terms of a settlement being made. A number of measures work across this area. One is the personal injuries commission to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank Senator Conway-Walsh. We all have anecdotes. I have an anecdote of a person whose premium went from €1,500 to €1,060 one month ago. The anecdotes go in either direction. It is important to try to work off the data. It was the data from the Central Statistics Office that gave us a concrete indication of exactly what we were hearing from our constituents last year and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: We cannot do that immediately. I was quite clear that they were never going to do that immediately. We had to put together a comprehensive plan to have buy-in from the Oireachtas and the Government. This was in order that people were clear that this was going to happen and was not going to be a report sitting on a desk.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I get this kind of query myself. I have become something of a focal point for people to give out about their insurance premiums. If I am at a wedding or some function, people come up and give me hassle about their car insurance; it is a great time. I understand that it is difficult to explain what is actually being done because we always said this was a complex problem that required a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The current hope is that the downward trend we have seen since last July, and which is now at 6%, will continue through the course of this year. This would mean that people who renewed their policy in the last month should notice a reduction in their premiums when they renew in 12 months' time. I would be amazed if they do not. These reforms are being done and other things are happening in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: I cannot speak for-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: There are many variables that an insurance company will use in the pricing of an insurance policy. It is very difficult to say to an individual case that his or her premium should have gone down. People can bring up anecdotes - as in the recent Dáil debate - where they know of a person and such and such happened to them. We cannot know fully all the circumstances of why an insurance...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: The Central Bank is responsible for this action and there are a number of changes to be made by the Central Bank. It is progressing this as one. We must go through due process and there must be public consultation on the changes. There are certain timelines already in place that must be followed. I believe this is a good thing to do but it is by no means the most important thing we have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Motor Insurance Costs: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (1 Jun 2017)

Eoghan Murphy: One of the things I want to do with this piece of work is to put as much as I can on a legislative basis in order that measures cannot be unilaterally withdrawn.