Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is hard not to think that there is an element of truth in what Senator Clifford-Lee outlined but it is important to take the Bill as presented to us. There certainly will be different views on its intent and its constitutionality, and on whether better and more effective and practical proposals could be brought to this House. I wonder about that but we are where we are. It is no mean feat to get a Private Members' Bill to the floor of this House. Senator Lawlor has been successful in that regard and fair play to him on that.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate and to speak to the topic of insurance more generally. The Bill is one that we in Sinn Féin will lend its support to on Second Stage, although not without reservations. We would bring forward amendments were it to progress further.

As has been stated by Senator Clifford-Lee, questions arise as to the Bill's constitutionality and how workable it is more generally, given that damages and personal injuries are more complex and specific to the person than may appear on the face of it.

I have concerns about section 2 and the limiting of any claim that can be made for general damages as defined under the Bill. While in theory it may seem a logical proposal, it does not take into account what may be considered as general damages more broadly, and how these may be fluid and how the nature of any injury incurred may change or develop with the passing of time. For example, in a case of someone who incurred life-limiting injuries and whose life expectancy had been estimated at 18 months taking a personal injury claim and the court settling on the amount there and then but two years later he or she is still alive and requires further expensive medical care, where does his or her claim sit? It is unclear in that regard. Section 2(3) appears to make an attempt to give scope to the Minister but that could become burdensome and tedious in time, and it may undermine the intention of the Bill in its totality. The same may well apply to sections 3 and 6, respectively.

On section 7(4), it should be a mandatory requirement to consult such groups rather than leaving it to the discretion of the Minister, with all respect to him or her, and I am not quite sure why such a requirement is not provided for. Either way, my party's concerns may well be unfounded, and addressed by section 3. A High Court case in the middle of last year reiterated the binding principles laid down by the Court of Appeal and by the Supreme Court, which must be applied in calculating the appropriate level of general damages for any personal injury. The case concerned a claim by a Garda for compensation in respect of a soft-tissue injury to his hand. Counsel for the applicant, in reliance on the book of quantum, suggested an award of €21,700. The court ultimately concluded that the appropriate compensation was €5,000. While this case related to the Garda compensation scheme, the judgment expressly referred to all personal injury cases. It was determined that in assessing damages the court is obliged to be "fair" to both parties and that any award must be "proportionate" within the scheme of awards for personal injury damages, and, further, that any such award must be objectively "reasonable" in light of the common good and social conditions. As I stated, the general principles of the Bill are fine and I understand the good intentions of An Seanadóir Lawlor but I hope the Bill progresses so that we could tease these matters out further.

On the insurance issue more generally, the motor insurance industry and the Central Bank have been accused of throwing consumers to the wolves over the cost of car insurance, in particular, in years gone by. I am not sure whether this trend has continued but I am aware, at least anecdotally, that many drivers are still experiencing increased premiums despite no change to their driving history.

In a hard-hitting report in 2016, the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach stated that the motor insurance industry had deliberately been hiding key information from public view and engaging in cartel-like behaviour. The report stated that all witnesses who appeared before the committee, except for the insurance industry itself, had highlighted the absence of data-sharing and a complete absence of transparency across the sector as a serious problem. The absence of this information meant it was impossible to get to the root cause of motor insurance price increases, according to the committee. The report also suggested another cause of the spikes in the cost of motor insurance which have resulted in some drivers' premiums going up by more than 100% in just two years was insurance companies had been using their motor insurance books to bolster shortfalls in investment income in other areas. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, and the Central Bank also came under fire in that report. The committee stated that the CCPC had insisted its remit was economy wide and limited to enforcement of competition law, something which "is of little comfort to suffering motorists who feel exploited and abandoned".

In regards to insurance fraud, Sinn Féin received documents under the Freedom of Information Acts last year, which documented a series of missed deadlines by Insurance Ireland since early 2017 to progress the proposal to set up an insurance fraud unit within An Garda Síochána funded by private industry. The independence of An Garda Síochána is essential, and a direct funding relationship with private interests undermines that independence. This is in a context where the insurance industry is under investigation by the competition authorities, in the State and at EU level, over anti-competitive practices. Any such unit should be funded by the State and, at a cost of approximately €1 million, this is more than within the capacity of Government.

It is clear now that Insurance Ireland has, despite protestations that fraud is a cause of increased premiums, decided instead that tackling fraud is not an important part of its agenda. This unit would now be up and running were it not for such delays. It is probably a conversation for another day, but an important and worthy one nonetheless.