Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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866. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps he is taking to address ongoing insurance price increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12721/18]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Insurance companies are private companies. The EU framework for insurance expressly prohibits Member States from adopting rules which require prior approval of the pricing or terms and conditions of insurance products. Neither any Minister nor any Government Department nor the Central Bank of Ireland has the power to direct insurance companies on the pricing of insurance products.

The Cost of Insurance Working Group, of which my Department is a member, and chaired by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy, T.D., in his former role as Minister of State at the Department of Finance, published a Report on the cost of motor insurance in January 2017 .The report looked at the circumstances behind the rising cost of motor insurance and set out a range of recommendations to improve the situation.

The Cost of Insurance Working Group, which is now chaired by Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Michael D'Arcy, T.D., continues to meet regularly to keep under review the implementation of the recommendations set out in its January 2017 report on the cost of motor insurance.  Regular updates on implementation of the recommendations in the Cost of Insurance Working Group’s Report can also be found on the Department of Finance's website at the link mentioned above.  The CSO’s index for motor insurance shows the cost of motor insurance fell by almost 12% between January 2017 when the report was published and January 2018.