Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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131. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide in tabular form the total amount raised from the levies on insurance policies in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5376/15]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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140. To ask the Minister for Finance the current balance on the insurance compensation fund; his views on whether it is adequate to meet all possible claims on it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5387/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 131 and 140 together.

The management and administration of the Insurance Compensation Fund is under the control of the President of the High Court acting through the Office of the Accountant of the Courts of Justice.  Every year the Office of Accountant produces the annual accounts of the ICF.  As Minister for Finance, I am required to publish these under Section 2(8)(b) of the Insurance Act 1964.  The 2013 Accounts were published in December 2014.  The Accountant has advised that while the 2014 accounts are not yet complete, information regarding the current balance and the 2014 receipts is available.

The current balance on the ICF is €81,766,275.40.  The ICF levy receipts received in the Accountant's Office in 2014 is set out in the table.

The role of the Minister for Finance in relation to the ICF is prescribed in Insurance Act 1964.The Minister may, on the recommendation of the Central Bank, advance from time to time to the ICF such sum as he thinks proper to enable payments out of the Fund to be made expeditiously.  Advances shall be made on such terms as to repayment, interest and other matters as may be determined by the Minister for Finance after consulting the Central Bank.

As Minister for Finance I also have a role to protect the interests of the Exchequer, and in that context I seek to ensure that an administration process is carried out in the most efficient way possible and that any call on the ICF is kept to a minimum.

The Central Bank of Ireland has responsibility under Section 6 of the Insurance Act 1964 to assess the Fund from time to time to see if it needs financial support.  Where it is of the opinion that the state of the ICF is such that financial support should be provided for it, it is allowed determine an appropriate contribution to be paid to the ICF by each insurer or insurer authorised in another EEA Member State. This is calculated as a percentage determined by the Central Bank, not exceeding 2 per cent, of the aggregate of the gross premiums paid to the insurer or insurer authorised in another EEA Member State in respect of policies issued in respect of risks in Ireland.  Currently, the levy is set at 2 per cent.

The Central Bank wrote to me in January after carrying out its annual analysis and I am currently examining the Central Bank's recommendations in respect of 2015. 

Tabular breakdown of Insurance Compensation Fund receipts in calendar year 2014 - Figures provided by the Office of the Accountant of the Courts of Justice 2nd February, 2015