Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I commend Senator Lawlor on the Bill, which I am glad to co-sponsor along with my colleagues. I welcome the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, to the House.

I am a member of the finance committee and we have done a considerable amount of work on insurance. Insurance companies, representative bodies, brokers and people affected by high insurance have come before the committee and several features have come across. Senator Conway-Walsh mentioned the lack of transparency. We have a lack of raw data. A database is being compiled, which I hope will shed light on it.

In the past week, I met a man whose business is to recover cars. He is on call with the insurance companies. His insurance increased threefold in the past three years. This is not sustainable. Insurance now makes up a very large proportion of overheads. The insurance companies speak about insurance costs reducing, but this is after they increased considerably over the previous two years. There is a small bit of spinning going on with regard to insurance costs.

In many cases, people are only able to get insurance from one company or two at a maximum. There might be a broad spectrum of insurance companies, but when people look for cover, they can find only one or two companies. Why is this the case? Surely there should be competition in the market. I know businesses are looking to reduce risk. These are just features as it is about the lack of transparency in the area. Historically, companies came into the Irish market and undercut each other and their rates were unsustainable. They have a business model and they are there to make money. The fact they got their costings wrong is their issue and not the customers' issue.

The Bill speaks about the Minister putting in place a maximum level of general damages. Would the Minister be able to set a maximum level of damages for specific injuries while allowing judges the discretion to award a higher rate if they can justify the reason for it? This might bring about a sense of fairness and, dare I say it, a little more transparency. At least we would be working off a maximum rate and a judge would have to comply or explain. This might inform the book of quantum in a range of areas.

Section 7 states the Minister shall commence a review within three years of the commencement of the Bill and at five yearly intervals thereafter. This should be every three years. Five years is a long time. The Bill refers to including representatives of the Judiciary with regard to the review. I assume this means the legal profession, including solicitors. I apologise. They are mentioned separately.

The insurance business tells us rates are increasing because of legal fees and the legal profession while the legal profession tells us it has nothing to do with it. If I am being honest, I am still none the wiser and I have no doubt many of my colleagues feel the same way. This shows the degree of the lack of transparency. There are serious vested interests involved. Insurance is an area where a lot of money can be made over a relatively concentrated period of time. It is making it prohibitive for many small businesses to stay in business and for young drivers and, in many cases, older drivers to stay on the road.

I commend the Bill. Senator Lawlor will take my comments in the spirit they were made. He has started a discussion on an area in which we need to find a tangible specific toolbox to get to a point where we not only reduce awards but have a reduction in insurance premiums for customers throughout the country.