John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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113. To ask the Minister for Finance the expected timeframe for payments following judgments to be forwarded to the liquidator in a case (details supplied); the status from the liquidator of the company regarding meeting its obligation to fund the balance of 35% of claims; the current stage of the liquidation process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35395/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Supreme Court delivered its judgment on 25 May 2017 and overturned the previous decisions of the High Court and the Court of Appeal that the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) is liable in respect of third party motor insurance claims made against the policyholders of Setanta Insurance.  The consequence of this is that the Insurance Compensation Fund (ICF) has been deemed responsible for the payment of such third party claims.

As the judgment has been delivered, it is now possible to begin the process of making payments in accordance with the provisions of the Insurance Act, 1964, as amended. Payments can only be made out of the ICF, with the approval of the High Court and only if it appears to the High Court that it is unlikely that the claim can be met otherwise than from the ICF. If satisfied, the High Court can order payments out of the ICF up to 65% (or €825,000, whichever is the lesser) due to relevant third party claimants.

The Liquidator has informed the Department that, as of 20 July 2017, the number of outstanding claims is 1,552.  The Office of the Accountant of the Courts of Justice and the State Claims Agency are currently working with the Liquidator to progress the making of payments to these claimants.

In this regard, an Order was granted in the High Court on Monday, 24 July 2017 in relation to 324 claims (25 first-party claims and 299 third-party claims). The Courts Service is now in a position to process the payments for these 324 claims.

Over and above the 65% ICF payment, it is expected that a proportion of the balance of money due to third party claimants will be met from the proceeds of the distribution of Setanta’s assets on completion of the liquidation process. However, it is not possible to say definitively at this stage what proportion of the claims this will amount to. In this regard, a preliminary assessment was carried out by Towers Watson in 2014 who indicated that the Liquidator would not be in a position to meet more than 30% of claims out of the assets of the liquidation.  The Liquidator has subsequently informed my Department that as the Supreme Court has now made its judgment, a new actuarial report is being commissioned.  This is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2017.