Written answers

Thursday, 7 November 2019

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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61. To ask the Minister for Finance the progress on a price index for public and employer liability insurance; when prices will begin to be tracked over time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45985/19]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Increasing the availability of data in relation to Employer and Public Liability Insurance is a matter which was discussed by the Cost of Insurance Working Group in its Report on the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance (2018). It recommended a number of actions to improve transparency in this area. Amongst these, Recommendation 1 requires the Central Statistics Office (CSO) to consider the feasibility of collecting price information on the cost of insurance to businesses, and if it considers such an index feasible to make appropriate proposals.

The Deputy will be aware that the CSO submitted a draft report to the Department of Finance in December 2018 on the work undertaken on the feasibility study to date. It subsequently provided a final report to the CIWG in January 2019. In this report, the CSO outlined the method that they would recommend for the compilation of a price index for public and employer liability insurance. At that time, the CSO outlined that it would pilot this method. Since then, the CSO has worked closely with a technology partner and its pilot project concluded at the end of September. While I understand that the results of the pilot project are encouraging overall, a small number of issues were identified and are currently being examined by the CSO.

As the Deputy knows, the CSO is an independent Office and it will ultimately be for the CSO to determine whether or not to proceed with such an index. Having said that, it is my understanding that the CSO is planning to make a presentation to the CIWG in early December in relation to a recommendation on a path forward. This should allow an opportunity for the views of the CIWG to be heard directly by the CSO.

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