Results 141-160 of 2,017 for speaker:Anthony Lawlor

Seanad: Local Government Rates and Other Matters Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (10 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: The hierarchy of the paragraphs, which starts with the national spatial strategy.

Seanad: Local Government Rates and Other Matters Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (10 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: What happens if local policy goes against national policy?

Seanad: Local Government Rates and Other Matters Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (10 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: Local authority members will know it is there.

Seanad: Local Government Rates and Other Matters Bill 2018: Motion for Earlier Signature (10 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: I also thank the Minister of State and his officials. This is an excellent piece of progressive legislation that gives more power to local authority members. I remember calling for it when I was a member of a local authority, in particular the amendment to allow a local authority to decide what rates should be paid within its region and what type of alleviation scheme to introduce. I hope...

Seanad: Judicial Council Bill 2017: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: I welcome the Minister's acceptance of amendments in the Dáil to speed up the formulation of the committees in question and, in consequence, to ensure the speedier reporting of the personal injuries guidelines committee. When we first debated the Bill in this House, we were expecting it to be a year and a half to two years before that committee would report back to the judicial council....

Seanad: Local Government Rates and Other Matters Bill 2018: Second Stage (9 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: I am sharing my time with Senator Reilly. I will not take too long. I welcome this Bill. It is innovative. I will just bring up a couple of points about it. My father was a rate collector and, at that time, rates were levied on every property. It was the property tax of the time. I always remember the two moieties. Not every business can afford to pay its rates in one go. That has to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: What is stopping the company from doing that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: We are not talking about the regulations. It should be proper business practice for a customer of Mr. McGrath's company who has been sued to be given full information regarding the cost associated with his or her premium having increased. That should be standard practice.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: I thank the Chairman for allowing me to contribute to this debate on insurance. While I have been here on several occasions for this debate, I am sorry I was not here when the committee heard from the legal profession, as I was in the Seanad Chamber at the time. I welcome the witnesses. They have indicated they comprise only 50% of the industry. It is sad that the other 50% refused to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: That is fair enough. The sad part of all of this investigation is that one of the sectors responsible for a fair whack of this problem, namely, the judges making awards in the courts, is not here. The book of quantum is based on the historical awards made in the courts. That is one area we cannot investigate but it is a problem.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: It would.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: That would be excellent. I thank the Chairman for accommodating that. As most people know, there are many legs to this stool, one of which we have here today. Will each company indicate how many levies are paid per €100 of a premium? They have gone through all the costs but nobody has indicated how much the Government levies come to?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: Can the companies indicate how much per €100 of a premium is a levy?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: It must be remembered, therefore, that 7% of all premiums are Government levies as a result of failed insurance industries in the past. What is the average time for a claim from when the event occurs to when it is actually settled?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: On personal injury claims, several people have come to me saying that they have been frontloaded almost immediately when the claims have been put in. There is a cost associated with that. Is that built into the company’s profit? No one knows what one will pay out at the end of the year or the whole claim period but the companies frontload many clients who have claims against them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: Does that include the overloading of the claims of individuals?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: The European Commission is investigating the insurance companies’ overarching body regarding competition rules. When I was at the Naas races last week, I noted all the bookmakers were charging the same price for a bet on a particular horse. They are supposed to be individual traders per se. I am concerned there is not much difference between the cost of insurance for a car across...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: I am aware of that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: If the judges decided the book of quantum was too high and put in place a new book with reduced awards, would the insurance companies reduce their premiums immediately? It would be preferable if the Judiciary reviewed this on a voluntary basis rather than having to put it through the whole legal process. Will the insurance companies reduce their premiums by what the Judiciary reduces the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Sector: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Anthony Lawlor: If all the judges got together tomorrow and agreed that they were going to reduce the payouts for the soft tissue and whiplash injury claims made, which make up the bulk of claims, to the current level of such awards in the UK, the witnesses would reduce their premiums proportionately.