Results 8,361-8,380 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: I do not think they said it was the main driver.

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: Let us not reduce the problems relating to motor insurance premiums to this one factor, important though it is. The industry did highlight the matter for us. The report of the working group on the cost of motor insurance published in January highlights several uncertainties that exist for insurance companies, such as the changing of the court jurisdictional limits and the introduction of...

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: No, and we did not put a percentage or estimate on this when preparing the cost of insurance working group report. The view was taken that because of uncertainty and an unknown liability in the future, it was impossible to put a percentage on 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: I cannot put a percentage on it. In the case of Setanta and outstanding claims of, say, €90 million, the insurance entities here had to reserve or provide for potential payment of that amount and for any future insolvencies that may arise for which they might be held liable. They would have made their own estimates through their own actuaries based on what that might mean in terms of...

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 question, we have come to an agreement with the insurance industry in principle following on from the report published last year by the Department on the new compensation framework for companies in failure. We propose to publish the heads of a Bill by the end of June. It will provide for a 65:35 split. As I have said, we have reached agreement in principle for an ex antefund...

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 give that commitment. The focus is on the new framework that we want to put in place for future company failures. I do not think it would be appropriate for the Government to give a commitment to a liability when it does not know the size of that liability or when it might arise.

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: They are the first quarter targets.

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...