Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. Based on my experience with these policies, I think legislative change will be required. These policies are being sold as whole-of-life. As the Minister of State said, there is a review every five years. An element which is not pointed out is that people, particularly older people, pay an exorbitant premium, with many taking out the policies, traditionally known as section 60 policies, to pay for inheritance tax on their deaths to ensure that beneficiaries are not caught by liabilities.Suddenly, they find themselves in a situation where the amount they have paid into the fund is far in excess of the value of the policy. Legislation must be introduced to provide for such situations. If people take out such policies which are deemed to be whole-of-life policies, they must get to a point where if they have paid an amount into the fund that is higher than the value of the policy, they should not be required to make further contributions.