Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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223. To ask the Minister for Finance if he is giving consideration to changing the VAT rate for the food industry back to 9% from the current 13.5% rate (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11707/24]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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At the outset, I wish to reassure the Deputy that I recognise the concerns felt by many local community groups across the country around the cost and availability of insurance cover for their centres or halls. Insurance reform is a key priority for this Government and is being delivered via the Action Plan for Insurance Reform with the vast bulk of the actions now either implemented or initiated.

Of particular relevance to the Deputy’s question, is the delivery last summer of one of the key “asks” of both the insurance industry and reform campaigners – the rebalancing of the Duty of Care. Accordingly, the amendments to the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1995 will deliver major benefits in particular to businesses, sporting groups and community and voluntary organisations. In time, cost savings from reduced claims should also help to lower premiums for such organisations, particularly those engaged in high-risk/high-footfall activity, where claims associated with ‘slips, trips and falls’ are more prevalent. This should benefit, in particular, businesses in the tourism, hospitality and recreation/activity sectors including community centres and halls.

One of the main changes is that the law now allows for a broader range of scenarios where it can be shown that a visitor or customer has voluntarily assumed a risk resulting in harm. In addition to being a legislative change, it is hoped that this signals the start of a cultural shift surrounding the claims environment in Ireland, which would bring us more into line with our European Union peers. It is important that we as legislators now work with other stakeholders to increase awareness of the new Duty of Care landscape, to empower organisations such as community groups when it comes to insurance renewals to ensure that they are receiving the best deal from their insurer or broker.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to assure the Deputy that it is Government's intention to ensure that implementation of the Action Plan can have a positive impact on the affordability and availability of insurance across all sectors in the economy, including for community centres and halls.