Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will resume now and I apologise to those who may be watching proceedings. I decided to wait because there is no point in talking to myself.

People blame each other for this problem. Insurance company profits, particularly in the motor insurance industry, were not particularly good for a number of years.If they were, we would have had many more entrants into the market. They have gone up in recent times, not because insurance payouts have decreased but because these companies have managed to inflict pain on every premium holder who has had to pay motor insurance or public liability insurance. The insurance companies have made money by charging all of us more. Insurance companies are not fighting cases in the way I would like them to. Perhaps that is because they feel it is more cost-effective to deal with the cases themselves, rather than risking the chance of going to court. I appreciate that one of the objectives of this Bill is to provide greater certainty. Senator O'Reilly is trying to distract me now.