Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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37. To ask the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied that progress is being made by the working group on the cost of insurance in the areas of public liability insurance such as for marts or child play centres. [7345/19]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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48. To ask the Minister for Finance the measures he is taking to address the perceived spiralling cost of insurance for the leisure industry. [7340/19]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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62. To ask the Minister for Finance the steps he is taking to help alleviate the cost of insurance on the leisure industry; and his views on whether insurance price rises within the sector have become highly inflated. [7457/19]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 37, 48 and 62 together.

At the outset I wish to emphasise that I am very aware of the financial strain which the cost of insurance is placing upon businesses, and on some sectors in particular.

As part of the Cost of Insurance Working Group’s (CIWG) formal consultation process, there was engagement between the CIWG and representatives from different industries, including both the agricultural and leisure sectors, while more recently, Minister of State D’Arcy, who chairs the CIWG, has met with representatives of those operating play centres. From these engagements, it would appear that the main difficulty in these sectors is a lack of capacity in the market which I understand has been driven to some degree by the overall claims level in these sectors.

In determining their willingness to enter into or remain in a particular sector of the market, insurers will generally make an assessment of what they consider the overall risk to be. Therefore, part of their assessment of what premium level to charge, or whether to offer cover will be based on what they consider the general likely trend for claims in the sector will be, based on their overall past experience.

The Deputy should note that as Minister for Finance, I am responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation and 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. Therefore I cannot compel insurers to provide cover to businesses such as play centres or marts.

The above said however, it was recognised with the establishment of the Cost of Insurance Working Group (CIWG) that the environment within which insurers conduct their business can be better shaped, in order to make the Irish insurance market a more competitive one and also make it more attractive for new entrants. In this regard, the initial focus of the Working Group was the issue of rising motor insurance premiums and the Report on the Cost of Motor Insurancewas published in January 2017.

The second phase of the CIWG, under the Chairmanship of the Minister of State for Financial Services and Insurance, Mr. Michael D’Arcy TD, culminated in the issuing of the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurancein January 2018. It makes 15 recommendations with 29 associated actions, detailed in an Action Plan with agreed timelines for implementation.

The most recent Progress Updatewas published last November and shows that 18 of the 19 actions points arising up to end of Q3 2018 have been completed.

It is envisaged that the next quarterly Progress Updatewill issue by the end of this month and I understand that the vast majority of the total of 26 action points which were due for completion during 2018 overall have been done. I am confident that any outstanding action points will be completed in the coming months, along with the three remaining action points with deadlines set for various quarters throughout 2019.

The actions implemented to date cut across a number of different areas and include:

- The publication of by An Garda Síochána of the “Guidelines for the Reporting of Suspected Fraudulent Insurance Claims by Insurance Entities to An Garda Síochána”

- The Law Reform Commission confirming that the subject of caps on damages for personal injuries litigation is included in its draft Fifth Programme of Law Reform

- Sections 8 & 14 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 have been amended to ensure defendants are appropriately notified of a claim having been submitted against their policy and to make it easier for businesses and insurers to challenge cases where fraud or exaggeration is suspected, respectively

- An Garda Síochána commencing the collection of statistics under the new “insurance fraud” category which has been added to the PULSE system

- The Courts Service confirming that they will publish a more detailed breakdown of awards in personal injury cases in its Annual Reports.

Finally, I would like to assure the Deputy that the CIWG will continue to focus on implementing the recommendations of the Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurancein parallel with implementing those from the Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance. I am hopeful that the cumulative effects of the completion of the two Reports’ recommendations will include increased stability in the pricing of insurance for businesses such as play centres and marts as well as a more competitive insurance market.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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38. To ask the Minister for Finance the key recommendations of the cost of insurance working group, including the report on employer and public liability, he plans to implement in the next six months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7369/19]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The most recent Progress Updatein respect of the Cost of Insurance Working Group project, published last November, shows that of the total number of 78 separate relevant deadlines within the Action Plans of the Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance and theReport on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insuranceup to the end of Q3 2018, 63 relate to actions which have been completed.

It is envisaged that the next quarterly Progress Updatewill issue by the end of this month and concentrate in particular on outlining the definitive position in relation to all of the 33 recommendations from the Motor Report as the last of the deadlines within its Action Plan passed at the end of 2018.

In respect of the EL/PL Report, the vast majority of the total of 26 action points which were due for completion during 2018 overall have been done. I am confident that any outstanding action points will be completed in the coming months, along with the three remaining action points with deadlines set for various quarters throughout 2019.

The upcoming Progress Updatewill also include an additional section providing the up-to-date status in respect of relevant recommendations from the two reports issued by the Personal Injuries Commission.

Some of the key actions and recommendations which I hope will be implemented over the next six months include:

- Personal Injuries Assessment Board (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018 to conclude its passage through both Houses of the Oireachtas

- The Law Reform Commission to formally commence its examination of the possibility of capping levels of damages for personal injury actions

- The National Claims Information Database to be fully functioning following the recent commencement of the relevant Act

- Progress in relation to the proposal to establish an improved insurance fraud investigative capacity within the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and further fruitful co-operation between the insurance industry and Gardaí

- Publication of Key Information Report on employer and public liability insurance claims

- Progress in relation to delivering interim guidelines relating to appropriate general damages award levels for the prioritised soft tissue/whiplash injury category.

Overall, the Deputy can rest assured that the Cost of Insurance Working Group will keep its focus on putting into place all of its proposed measures in order to improve the insurance market for businesses and consumers alike.