Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is good to see the Minister of State. Sinn Féin welcomes this evening's Bill. It seeks to criminalise the giving of false information to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board under section 11, which relates to the making of assessments, and section 23, which gives the board the power to require additional information from third parties, of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003, the establishing Act for the body.

Sinn Féin supports strengthening the role of PIAB as it allows for cheaper and quicker settlement of claims than resorting to the courts. This should allow savings to be passed on to the consumer as high insurance premiums are one of the major contributory factors in the cost-of-living crisis workers and their families are currently experiencing. However, what we have seen from the industry thus far is that savings are not passed on to the consumer but retained as increased profits. In 2021, the Central Bank published a 2019 report on private motor insurance which clearly showed that the insurance industry had decided to pocket the vast amount of savings it had made during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite traffic falling by 37% in 2020, the number of claims falling by 26% and the cost of claims per policy falling by 20%, premiums only fell by 7%. Meanwhile, the industry made profits of €163 million, a margin of 12%. There is the evidence and the facts with regard to the insurance industry continuing to rake in profits at the expense of their customers through what is, in effect, a monopoly of a small few companies.

Insurance fraud is a serious role that plays a role in increasing premiums but we cannot trust the industry to do the right thing and demonising ordinary workers making claims, the policy of the industry for many decades, will not help. The Sinn Féin spokesperson on finance, Deputy Doherty, introduced legislation in April 2021 that would require insurers to show if savings are being passed on to consumers in the form of lower premiums and, if so, how much. The Bill was blocked by the Government, which has refused to stand up to the industry. The 2019 report also made clear the need for the role of PIAB to be strengthened.

In summary, we support the aims of this Bill as it seeks to reduce insurance costs but there are areas where it could be improved and we will work to submit amendments on Committee Stage.