David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this very important matter and for the work he has put into this and the research he has carried out.I encourage the Senator to carry on with this particular work and interest because it is hugely important, as he said.

The Senator has provided me with an opportunity to update the House on the progress being made on the recommendations contained in the cost of insurance working group's reports on the cost of motor insurance and of employer and public liability insurance. The Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, who has responsibility for this matter sends his apologies. He is very aware of the financial strain the cost of insurance is placing on consumers and businesses, and on some sectors in particular, as the Senator has outlined.

Members of the Seanad are aware that the report on the cost of motor insurance was published in January 2017 and made 33 recommendations. The report on the cost of employer and public liability insurance was subsequently published in January 2018 and made 15 recommendations. Both sets of recommendations are detailed in action plans with agreed timelines for implementation. The working group prepares progress updates detailing implementation progress on a quarterly basis. The seventh such update was published last November and shows that of the total number of 78 separate relevant deadlines in the action plans for the two reports to the end of the third quarter of 2018, 63 relate to actions that have been completed. It is envisaged that the next update will be completed by the end of this month and will concentrate in particular on outlining the definitive position on all 33 recommendations of the motor insurance report, as the last of the deadlines in its action plan passed at the end of 2018.

In respect of the employer and public liability report, the vast majority of the total of 26 action points, which were due for completion during 2018, have been done. The Minister of State is confident that any outstanding action point will be completed in the coming months, along with the three remaining action points with deadlines set for various quarters of 2019.

The upcoming progress update will include an additional section providing the up-to-date status of relevant recommendations from the two reports issued by the Personal Injuries Commission. In terms of the recommendations it is hoped will be implemented over the next six months, the key actions include the passage through both Houses of the Oireachtas of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018; the Law Reform Commission to commence formally its examination of the possibility of capping levels of damages for personal injury actions, an action to which the Senator alluded; the national claims information database to be fully functioning following the recent commencement of the relevant Act; progress on the proposal to establish an improved insurance fraud investigative capacity in the Garda national economic crime bureau and further fruitful co-operation between the insurance industry and gardaí - the Senator was spot on to highlight this issue; publication of a key information report on employer and public liability insurance claims; and progress on delivering interim guidelines relating to appropriate general damages award levels for the prioritised soft tissue and whiplash injury category, to which the Senator also made reference.

The Minister of State assures the Senator that he and the working group will continue to focus on implementing all proposed measures in order to improve the insurance market for businesses and consumers alike. The Minister of State will continue to work with his ministerial colleagues to ensure the various recommendations are implemented. He is hopeful that the cumulative effects of the completion of the recommendations of the two reports will include increased stability in the pricing of insurance for consumers and businesses and provide for a more competitive insurance market.