Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to start where the Bill started, that, is with Deputy Pearse Doherty and the LRC report. I thank Deputy Doherty. As I have said on many occasions in many different areas, in particular on the airwaves, the level of support I have received from both Houses in regard to insurance has been complete. Nobody has once been in any way obstructive in regard to legislation we have to get through. We can sometimes go into combat based on political views and opinions, but the support has been complete, and I thank both Houses for that.

This is one piece of legislation on top of the Insurance (Amendment) Act, which gave effect to the Supreme Court decision about Setanta, and on top of the national claims information database that we also got through this time last year, and Senators may remember we had to get it through so we could have the information that flowed from the motor sector in 2018 and backwards from there. We also have the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill, the Judicial Council Bill and this legislation. Some would say it is not fast enough, and it is absolutely not fast enough and I would love it to be faster. However, we are all operating in a confining area. We are confined by operating within the rules set down by the Central Bank of Ireland, which is the regulator, and we do not have authority over that.

The Judiciary has set the book of quantum over the years. The seven judges are in place as selected by the Chief Justice, Frank Clarke, and I wish them well. I want them to operate in a good and speedy manner so we can get the awards down, given they are too high. The reason I want awards to come down, and this is something I believe the Law Society is correct about, is that too many people are victims of the insurance companies. How do I know that? Thousands of cases every year go to the insurance ombudsman, which should not be the case. On too many occasions, the insurance companies were using the benefit of the small print not to pay out, and while they were legally correct, they were morally very wrong. That is not what any of us want on behalf of the consumers. The consumers are the clients of the insurance companies. The consumers who are really impacted upon right now due to the level of awards are businesses throughout the country.That said, our insurance sector must be sustainable, and to be sustainable, it must be profitable. If it is not profitable, companies will leave the sector quickly. The insurance companies blame the lawyers, the lawyers blame the insurance companies, and we, as legislators, are stuck in between trying to protect consumers. Without the support of Members, we could not do what we are doing here this evening, passing important legislation through a House of the Oireachtas in one movement. I am very grateful for that support because I want this legislation in place just as dearly as Deputy Pearse Doherty and everybody else. I again thank the Acting Chairman. I also thank my staff in the Department of Finance. Some of the best staff in the Department work in the insurance section. They are helpful and co-operative. I know that they sometimes get annoyed with me but that is okay too. We have done some good work this evening. We will now take the amendments to the Dáil, where I hope to get them through next week so that this Bill can be signed by the President, enacted and in place as quickly as possible to protect consumers. That is something we all want.