Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to agree that. I will be very brief. Sinn Féin has brought forward a good Bill and the Minister of State and Department have taken it on board. There is general unanimity that this is a positive thing to do. It is fair to say that it is not going to change the world overnight, but it is a small positive step in the right direction.

We face an enormous challenge in respect of insurance. The Minister of State is trying his very best, to be fair to him, but we are not seeing a reduction in the cost of policies, more transparency or what we need to have a proper functioning market. Play centres, crèches, pubs, restaurants and other businesses face difficulties with insurance. We all pay when people make and get away with false claims. Pat McDonagh of Supermac's won eight or nine claims, but I understand the cost to defend them was in excess of €400,000. I believe €36,000 was paid out in claims and seven of the nine claims resulted in no payouts.

We need to tackle the cost of insurance and all of the related legal costs, payouts and so on. The Bill is positive and I welcome it, but there is an awful lot more to be done.