Results 9,121-9,140 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: Just to avoid confusion, I spoke about the volume of correspondence and documentation I have seen and without having the letter in front of me, it is difficult to be sure that I have seen it and discussed it. I thought that the Deputy was suggesting that the Central Bank was talking about new powers but clearly it was not. What I mean is that since the committee has met, the Central Bank...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: I am talking about a particular point in time when an engagement was already happening, before I was appointed to my current position.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: I was made aware of those discussions, but since I was appointed there has been nothing new in addition to that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: No, but that engagement is still ongoing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: I am against it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank the Deputy. I have heard that too and I think it is a good idea. I will request that, and when I get it I will pass it on to the committee. We will not keep it to ourselves.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: Yes, absolutely. It was correspondence that was copied to Deputy Doherty, as well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: The Injuries Board will speak about the data better than I can, but-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: Roughly 20% of claims are settled through the Injuries Board, 10% in court and the other 70% are settled, but it is not clear whether they are settled before or after the Injuries Board process.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: The Injuries Board cannot provide for legal costs. There are a couple of exceptions. One might be in relation to a serious case. From my interaction with the Injuries Board, I understand that it cannot provide for legal costs. That said-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: What they have said to me is that the legal element of that part of the process has not fallen away. In 95% of cases that the Injuries Board sees, there is a solicitor involved.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: Yes, I know.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: I do not want to come to a definitive conclusion on that but if one looks at the number of cases that fall out of the Injuries Board and enter the courts, one could draw a conclusion that people are not taking the Injuries Board route seriously. They may believe either that they can get a higher award in the courts, or in a settlement, or they may be cognisant of fees that may need to be paid.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: The Chairman is right when he says we have to look at the levers that we can pull as legislators. I agree that we should not follow fanciful things around technology and telematics in the car industry, although I would be very interested in looking at such matters at a later stage in the work of the working group. We have to look at what we can do immediately. We are looking at the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: A number of factors need to be considered in this context so we can improve the Injuries Board. In addition to looking at the legislation that underpins the board, we can look at legislation relating to the provision of legal services, the obtaining of medical tests and the availability of data. For example, we can look at the grading of different types of whiplash. The legislation...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: The Chair is absolutely right when he expresses fears about people leaving the market and what that might mean. He is also right when he says the Government should come with actions. I will take action. The sooner we can show consensus between the Government and the Opposition parties, the sooner we will send the right signal to the industry and the other players that something is about to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: I cannot remember the committee's schedule off the top of my head. Are representatives of the Law Society of Ireland and the Bar Council of Ireland due to come before it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: Good. They are coming before the working group as well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Rising Cost of Motor Insurance: Minister of State (7 Sep 2016)

Eoghan Murphy: Great.