Results 22,261-22,280 of 37,025 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I thank Mr. Mulligan for those answers, which have been very helpful. I thank the delegation from the Injuries Board for its presentation. A number of Deputies and Senators have gone through the figures but if we look at the end figure of 33,000 that has come to the board, we can see that only 7,200 claims have been assessed by the board and agreed by participants so we have a huge gap in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: Does the Injuries Board have access to the insurance data that were provided to compile the books of quantum for 2013 and 2014, the secret information for which we have been screaming for quite a while, or were they given directly to the private consultants?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: They would, however, contain information on, for example, the number of claims settled out of court out of the total number not agreed by the Injuries Board.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: It was the payouts-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: -----and that was it. Before we move on to the book of quantum, the Society of Actuaries in Ireland makes the point that there has been a 42% increase in the number of claims being processed by the Injuries Board. Is that not a reason premiums are rising? We know that the levels of awards are not causing the rise and that the level of solicitor representation has not really increased...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: In fairness, that is the way I read it, and that is the important part. If there are that many awards-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: The better.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: Let us consider the book of quantum. When the Injuries Board assesses a claim, does it rely on a book of quantum which is based on claims that were paid out prior to the compilation of the book, which was 12 years ago? What does the Injuries Board do? Does it just add an additional inflation charge?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: Returning to former Governor Honohan's letter, he made suggestions to the Government in July 2015. He said that the introduction of judicial guidelines in this regard would usefully complement the policy framework in Ireland as it has proved effective abroad. This concerns the Injuries Board and the book of quantum. Does the Injuries Board support that idea, that there should be judicial...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: Very good. Regarding claims that are settled, regardless of how we can fix the process or try to enhance the process, there always will be and always should be the right of an individual or indeed an insurance company to pursue a matter through the courts. Is it the board's view that in cases of claims which come before it and are either rejected by the insurance company or by the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: What about when the book of quantum states that for a certain category of whiplash, for example, the award is €15,000 and somebody appeals that to the Judiciary and gets €45,000? I think in one of the documents I got through a freedom of information request I saw correspondence between the insurance sector and the Department, which were concerned about some newly appointed...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I have two final questions. The first is for the Society of Actuaries in Ireland and concerns a bugbear of many people from whom I hear, namely, those who drive older cars and who are, they argue, very safe on the roads. They argue that they are probably safer on the roads than many others because some of these cars are very old and quite expensive. Perhaps the Injuries Board could also...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: My last question relates to the amended motion that passed through the Dáil asking the finance committee to hold these hearings, which I have been through. This issue is what drives a lot of people crazy. The fact we have seen a 70% increase in insurance premiums is absolutely unforgivable. I believe there is a rip-off culture and a gouging of customers. That is my view but we will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: That is not a very satisfactory answer. Mr. Dunne has not enlightened me anymore as to why this is happening. Members of Mr. Dunne's society inform the insurance companies of the risk associated with their policies, the type of person and so on. These are individuals who have been insured by these companies for a number of years. If their premiums were increasing by on average 40% or 50%,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: The point is that the actuaries' input last year suggested that this individual, with their input, would be paying a premium of €400. With the actuaries' input this year, the individual, who is just one year older but no less safer on the road, has not bought a high powered beamer and is driving the same type of car, is now being charged €1,200. That is a real case example....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I thank Mr. Mulligan.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I want to pick up on an issue we touched on a number of times when the council appeared before the committee on previous occasions, namely, the difference between it and the Department of Finance. Mr. Tutty answered some of the questions. I want to go deeper into the figures he provided. He mentioned that €4.1 billion is what the council believes would need to be factored into the...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I asked previously for that information to be provided to the committee. The council has made these points in the media and elsewhere. It would be helpful to members of this committee to have a breakdown of the components. We will hear from the Government that it is a Government decision to increase public sector wages or pension payments for senior citizens but some elements are...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I thank Professor McHale; that will be very helpful. I understand that there has to be a point in time when the council knows the data is robust. We are in a bit of a mess. The council has been helpful in developing a new way of measuring our debt to GDP ratio but it does not mean anything apart from it being the way the council has now decided to calculate the ratio. It has no...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Pre-Budget Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Sep 2016)

Pearse Doherty: I hear that, and it is welcome the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has come up with a new measurement for debt to GDP. It tells politicians and others to stop fooling themselves if they believe debt is decreasing to sustainable levels and that they should not swallow their own propaganda and state the country is doing well, because debt did not fall but increased in recent times. However,...