Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. Fianna Fáil will be supporting the Bill. It is unfortunate that it has become necessary to legislate in this area as a result of the ruling handed down by the European Court of Justice. I understand the legislation must come into effect on 21 December next. This is not happening before time. I would go a step further in respect of this matter and demand that those who, in an aggressive fashion, took large sums of money primarily from young men - 98% of whom are very responsible - should be obliged to reimburse them for a risk that never existed. When he turned 18, my eldest son purchased a car for £1,000 and was obliged to pay insurance of £2,900 in respect of it. His sister, who is a year older than him, learned to drive the following year and obtained her insurance for £700 as a result of her gender. That was absolutely scandalous. My son has been driving for 12 years and he has never had an accident. Active discrimination of this sort was commonplace at the time. The excuse that young men are responsible for many road accidents has never been good enough. I am glad the European Court of Justice has taken action to compel the Government to introduce legislation. I am not making a political point here, because the previous Government should have acted in this regard. This matter did not arise overnight and something should have been done about it long ago. This is one of the areas in respect of which insurance companies are very quick to manoeuvre situations to their financial gain.

Flood alerts have been issued in respect of Skibbereen and Bandon today. Many business people and householders in these towns are no longer in a position to take out insurance on their properties as a result of previous flooding. Where is the risk equality in such circumstances? I have made the point on previous occasions that every person should be entitled to insurance, particularly in circumstances in which whatever happened is not his or her fault. The towns to which I refer were not built on flood plains but they are now, as a result of climate change or whatever, being flooded quite regularly. Some of the buildings in Skibbereen and Bandon are 200 or 300 years old. There is no fairness in respect of this issue.

The Government must ensure that the changes proposed in the Bill will not, as some observers fear, result in riskier behaviour on our roads. A number of strict measures introduced by successive Governments and the Road Safety Authority, which deserves great credit, have made Irish roads substantially safer. I predict that the figure for deaths on our roads this year will hopefully be the lowest recorded in my lifetime. In the 1960s and 1970s, between 600 and 700 people were killed on our roads each year. I accept that the condition of roads then was bad, but there were two thirds fewer vehicles on them. I am glad we are going in the right direction in this regard.

Overall insurance costs must be kept down for ordinary consumers who are struggling to make ends meet. The changes that are being implemented on foot of the decision of the European Court of Justice should spur the Government on to tackle insurance costs in respect of all insurance holders. Insurance companies should be encouraged to find ways to better measure risk taking by drivers in order to ensure that the costs are fairly borne by those who present the greatest threat.

Perhaps the Minister of State and the Government will take the points I have made on board. There is a need for a wide-ranging debate on insurance. This is an old hobby horse of mine. Many places throughout the country, including Kilkenny, Ballinasloe, Fermoy and Cork city, have been affected by flooding, which is very unfortunate. I wrote to the Irish Insurance Federation in respect of this matter and I have raised it in the House on a few occasions. I would laud any Minister or Department that tries to tackle the great injustice that exists in this regard.

There was a time when I used to insure my car and house willy-nilly. I never bothered to check my policies. However, in the past four to five years - perhaps as a result of the recession - I have shopped around. Many people now shop around in respect of their car and, in particular, house insurance. It is worthwhile doing so because one will obtain value for money. In one instance, I saved almost ¤300 by shopping around in respect of my house insurance. Perhaps solicitors were to blame but people used to be afraid of under-insuring their properties because they believed that, in the event of a fire or whatever, their claims would be paid on a pro-rata basis and they would not receive the full amount. The wheel has turned full circle because property values have fallen to such a degree. Members of the public should be conscious of ensuring that realistic values are attached to their homes. For example, a family home that was valued at ¤400,000 five to seven years ago is probably worth only ¤185,000 now.