Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This is welcome legislation, which reflects a key commitment in the programme for Government and the action plan for insurance reform to enhance and reform the PIAB process. The data from the Central Bank report are clear. They show that prior to the introduction of reforms, it took twice as long for claimants to go down the legal route, compared with the PIAB process, and they ultimately ended up with a similarly sized settlement. From 2015 to the end of 2020, the average personal injury award for motor claims through PIAB was €22,000, compared with €23,000 through the courts.

The key difference was that the legal cost of going through PIAB was €665, compared with €15,000, on average, through the courts. Furthermore, the implementation of the personal injury guidelines means there will be no difference between awards in courts and through the board. It is important that we continue to get that message out to people. I know from speaking to claimants that there is sometimes a perception that they are better off going down the legal route, which is simply not the case. Clearly, having more claimants settle at the PIAB stage is in everyone's interest. The Bill is aimed at further growing the percentage of such cases by making a number of enhancements to strengthen the board, as the Minister of State outlined.

Insurance remains one of the major challenges facing businesses, particularly SMEs across the country. It is essential that we bring down its cost and increase competition in the sector. As the Minister of State said, there is no one reform that will suffice. Rather, there needs to be a wide range of complementary reforms to make a meaningful impact. A key pledge of Fianna Fáil before the most recent general election was to reform the insurance market. That is exactly what the Government is doing with the introduction of the personal injury guidelines, legislation to strengthen the law on perjury, the establishment of an office to promote competition in the market and the further strengthening of PIAB by way of this Bill. We have seen progress in attracting additional liability capacity into the Irish insurance market. We are now seeing additional insurance companies competing to provide cover for sectors that were uninsurable just a few years ago. PIAB data show average general claims have decreased by 44% under the personal injury guidelines, with the average PIAB award now €14,786, compared with €23,877 in 2020.

We have also seen reductions in motor insurance. We need those reductions to become more widespread across the insurance sectors. SME owners in Galway tell me the cost of insurance has been a grave concern for them for a number of years. Unfortunately, it has even resulted in some having to close their business. That has been rare but it has happened. Now the Government has taken decisive action to address the issue, it is time for insurers to play their part and reflect those actions in the price of premiums. We also need greater transparency from insurance companies. Such transparency in respect of claims has been lacking for a long time. We must ensure that is no longer tolerated.

An important consideration is the resourcing of PIAB. We have seen an increase in the number of cases coming before it, which is welcome. That is the way we want to go. The board appears to be dealing adequately with the increase but we all hope the number of cases it settles will continue to grow. Is the Minister of State confident the board has sufficient resources to handle such an increase or will it require greater resources?

I welcome this legislation. It is another significant and substantial step in reforming the insurance sector, which the Government highlighted as a signature commitment. We are delivering on that commitment.