John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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150. To ask the Minister for Finance the discussions his Department has had with relevant agencies and industry representative bodies to enable newly qualified taxi drivers to obtain vehicle insurance at a reasonable price. [26487/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, 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 direct insurance companies as to the pricing level or terms and conditions that they should apply in respect of particular categories of drivers or vehicles.

However, it is acknowledged that pricing in the motor insurance sector has been subject to a lot of volatility in recent years and, indeed, the problem of rising motor insurance premiums was the main impetus for the establishment of the Cost of Insurance Working Group. Its Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance, which was published in January 2017, makes 33 recommendations with 71 associated actions to be carried out in agreed timeframes.

In line with the EU framework, the Cost of Insurance Working Group’s starting position on insurance for taxi drivers was that it was not possible for it to make a recommendation on pricing as this is primarily a commercial matter for insurers. It did however recognise that this sector serves a social as well as an economic purpose, particularly in rural areas where public transport is less readily available. This position was acknowledged by the inclusion of Recommendation 10 in the Report of the Cost of Insurance Working Group on the Cost of Motor Insurance. This recommended that the Advisory Committee on Small Public Service Vehicles should enter regular discussions with Insurance Ireland to explore solutions for drivers in the sector.

That Fifth Update Report, published on 11 May 2018 at , outlines the implementation of this recommendation. In summary, Insurance Ireland met with the Advisory Committee on Small Public Service Vehicles, commonly known as the Taxi Advisory Committee (TAC), on 22 May 2017. The TAC submitted the required report in relation to this meeting on 21 June 2017 to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. To date, no further meetings have taken place between the TAC and Insurance Ireland. However, the TAC has advised my officials that it is keeping itself informed of developments in the area, particularly through the industry representatives on the Committee, and future meetings with Insurance Ireland are a part of the TAC strategy. Recommendation 10 has been completed in the sense that the TAC has reported to the Minister for Transport. Notwithstanding this, my view would be that work needs to continue on this general issue. Therefore, I look forward to further engagements between the TAC and the insurance industry.

I would add that, notwithstanding the role of the TAC, 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 the implementation of both the Cost of Insurance Working Group Motor Report and Employer/Public Liability Report should deliver fairer premiums for consumers, including taxi drivers. In addition, I am of the view that this ongoing work should better facilitate potential new entrants to the market. In this regard, I have been informed by my officials that Insurance Ireland has stated that there has been some increase in market capacity in relation to the provision of motor insurance for taxi drivers recently.