Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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84. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding taxi insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25091/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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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, can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products, as these matters are of a commercial nature, and are determined by insurance companies based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept.  This position is reinforced by the EU framework for insurance which expressly prohibits Member States from adopting rules which require insurance companies to obtain prior approval of the pricing or terms and conditions of insurance products.  Consequently, I am not in a position to review individual cases nor to direct insurance companies as to the pricing level or terms or conditions that they should apply in particular cases. 

However, I do accept that it is possible for the State to play a role in helping to stabilise the market and deal with factors contributing to the cost of insurance.  Consequently, I established the Cost of Insurance Working Group and appointed Minister of State Eoghan Murphy as Chair. The Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance was finalised in December 2016, approved by Cabinet on January 10th 2017, and subsequently published. It contains 33 recommendations and 71 actions which are detailed in an action plan contained in the Report with agreed timelines for implementation.  Work on carrying out these recommendations is well underway and I am confident that the report’s 71 action points will be implemented by the end of 2018, with 45 due for completion this year.  The Working Group continues to meet regularly and will report on a quarterly basis detailing its progress.

With regard to the taxi sector in particular, I understand that it made representations to my Department and the Cost of Insurance Working Group and these were taken into consideration during the review.  The position of the taxi sector, which serves a social as well as an economic purpose, particularly in rural areas where public transport is less readily available, was acknowledged by the inclusion in the Report of a recommendation for the Advisory Committee on Small Public Vehicles (commonly referred to as the Taxi Advisory Committee (TAC)) to enter regular discussions with Insurance Ireland in order to explore solutions for drivers in the sector. 

The TAC met with Insurance Ireland on May 22nd to explore solutions for drivers in the sector and will report to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport on that engagement.  The Cost of Insurance Working Group will also be updated on this meeting and review the action on the basis of that update. 

It should be noted that the issues raised by the taxi sector were in the main similar to those affecting consumers generally, notwithstanding that there are risks that are specific to the sector.  While there is no silver bullet to reduce the cost of insurance, I believe that with the cooperation and commitment of all parties, fairer premiums for consumers, including taxi drivers can be delivered over the implementation period of the Cost of Motor Insurance Report.