Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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120. To ask the Minister for Finance to immediately consult with the insurance industry, which is refusing to quote the owners of vehicles with new hackney licences, given that this is precluding them from setting up in business despite having been granted a licence to do so by the relevant authority; if this is affecting the creation of much needed employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7055/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The provision of insurance cover and the price at which it is offered is a commercial matter for insurance companies and is based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept and adequate provisioning to meet those risks. 

As Minister for Finance, I am responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation. Neither I, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, may interfere in the provision of insurance products. The EU framework for insurance expressly prohibits Member States from adopting rules which require insurance companies to obtain prior approval of the pricing, or terms and conditions of an insurance product.  

Insurance Ireland, which represents the insurance industry in Ireland, has informed me that if a hackney/taxi licence holder is refused a quotation, she/he should obtain three letters of refusal from three different insurance companies and then contact Insurance Ireland, 5 Harbourmaster Place, IFSC, Dublin 1, Telephone +353 1 6761820 quoting the Declined Cases Agreement. Under this Agreement, Insurance Ireland will nominate an insurer to provide a quotation.