Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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62. To ask the Minister for Finance the steps he is taking to assist sporting organisations that cannot access insurance cover at a reasonable cost. [21232/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to acknowledge the issue raised by the Deputy regarding the difficulties experienced by some sporting organisations in obtaining insurance. As the Deputy will be aware, neither I, the Minister for Finance, nor the Central Bank of Ireland can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products, as per the EU Solvency IIDirective insurance framework. As such, the Government faces constraints in seeking to address this matter.

Nonetheless, the Government continues to prioritise insurance reform via the Action Plan for Insurance Reform. The third Action Plan Implementation Reportdemonstrates that considerable progress has been achieved, with the vast bulk – approximately 90 per cent – of the 66 actions contained therein now delivered or ongoing. Rebalancing the Duty of Care legislation (the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1995) is now a key remaining priority and is being led by the Minister of Justice. Overhauling this legislation which targets the issue of ‘slip, trips and falls’ should help to address some issues experienced by sporting organisations. This in turn could potentially unlock further liability insurance capacity for this and other sectors. Furthermore, the new Personal Injuries Guidelines and legislation to help reform the Personal Injuries Assessment Board are now both in place, with the ultimate aim of stabilising the cost of claims, to ensure they become more predictable.

I recently met with the CEOs of all the major insurers operating in the domestic Irish market and outlined Governments expectation that arising from the implementation of the reform programme they will pass on the savings and broaden their risk appetite, including to sporting and community-based groups.

Furthermore, the Government’s Office to Promote Competition in the Insurance Market– which I chair – continues to work to help increase capacity in the Irish market, including by communicating the achievements of the Action Plan. This work has started to bear fruit with some new firms announcing their entry to the market in recent months. Capacity in the activity and sporting sectors is a focus of the Office, which is due to next meet Fáilte Ireland and receive an update on insurance issues and developments within this area.

Accordingly, building on this progress by encouraging both new and existing insurers to expand into new areas, including sport, and increasing affordability as a result remains one of our goals.