Susan O'Keeffe (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for attending.

Like others, I welcome the Equal Status (Amendment) Bill. It is not often we welcome a measure that could increase prices, at least for people like me, but I understand most of the price increases affecting women will affect younger women. Once one is over the age of 40 or 45 years - sadly, I am in this age bracket ? the price difference becomes much less significant. Therefore, as Senator Feargal Quinn and others implied, price changes will occur at the bottom end of the market where there has been such a difference. Senator Denis O'Donovan referred to the weighting for his son and younger men.

My understanding of the legislation is that insurance companies will continue to use gender but will not be able to base their decisions on gender alone. Companies set up to sell insurance to women will not be able to say that because one is a woman, one's premium will be lower. Although one's gender will be taken into account, other factors, including one's driving record, will also be taken into account. Given that there is confusion, the Minister of State may be able to clarify the matter. Insurance companies will not rule out the fact that an individual is a woman or a man, but they will have to regard that fact as just one factor in the mix in determining the rating of his or her insurance premium.

Drives for equality are always welcome, although they do draw attention to some complexities. I concur with Senator Feargal Quinn on some of his queries on this matter. I appreciate that the Competition Authority is set to put a mechanism in place to monitor the price change that is inevitable. The difficulty it will face is that it will not be able to do so in the shorter term. We will not be able to see trends emerging in the shorter term, unless insurance companies are very blatant about how they change their prices. If they are more subtle and there is a focus on individual cases, it will take longer to work out whether prices are being increased simply because of this legislation.

I trust that the Competition Authority's mechanism is already properly developed and that we will not see big lags. On 22 December, when the legislation will allow insurance companies to change their prices, we must not be left waiting for the Competition Authority. We cannot wait until the middle of March, April or July for it to be up and running; it ought to be up and running straightaway. The Department of Finance and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation have stated they will organise a large-scale review, but this is dependent on the Competition Authority's monitoring of price changes. Therefore, there is considerable opportunity for the slippage that nobody wants to see. As various Members have said, we are more than aware of the need to try to contain costs at this time. Senator Paul Bradford referred to this difficulty.

The next matter I wish to raise relates to health insurance. I am not clear whether some health insurance premiums are weighted for women. Since women live longer than men, will their insurance policies be more expensive? If one is living longer, one is more inclined to be ill. Is the Minister of State in a position to clarify the matter?

I concur with those Members who asked for a debate on the broader issues that arise. We are here today to pass this legislation which we are forced to pass by the European Union.

Calls have been made in the United Kingdom for the use of black boxes. Individual drivers could have their own black box, with which term we are familiar from aeroplanes. With the black box, each driver would have a record of how he or she drove. Just as personalised health products are coming down the tracks ? drug companies are now much more capable of providing drugs tailored to people's needs ? we will have personalised insurance products. I suspect this is not as far off as it sounds. Does the Government have plans to encourage, introduce or legislate for the use of black boxes? Might having them result in greater equality? It would not matter whether one was a man or woman; what would matter is how one drove. That is at the heart of the matter, particularly where motor insurance is concerned.