Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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58. To ask the Minister for Finance to provide an update on the work of the Office for the Promotion of Competition in the Insurance Market, particularly in relation to reducing the cost of public liability insurance; his Department’s recent engagement with insurance companies and new insurance companies regarding the high cost of public liability insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5085/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Insurance reform remains a key priority for this Government. To date the Office for the Promotion of Competition in the Insurance has successfully helped to facilitate the availability of insurance in previously challenging areas, in turn contributing to a more competitive market.

The new Programme For Government - Securing Ireland’s Future calls for the expansion of the Office, which continues to play an important role in connecting various stakeholders – insurers, brokers, representative groups, among others – and facilitating engagement on issues relating to the availability of insurance across the market.

The Office has undertaken intensive stakeholder engagement, with over a hundred stakeholder meetings in 2024 and held a number of roundtables with insurers including a Hospitality Risk Round Table, Brokers Roundtable and Retail Risk Roundtable. These engagements provide an opportunity to highlight to the wider insurance industry the positive impact of the Government’s reform programme to date, and to advocate that Ireland’s insurance sector is open to increased capacity from abroad. In terms of business and commercial insurance, existing providers have also indicated that they are expanding their risk appetite to underserved areas and various sectors are reporting reductions in the rate being charged for liability cover.

The number of ‘pinch-points’ have also decreased significantly, with insurance now available in previously difficult areas such as: equestrian activities; classic car hire; inflatable hire; leisure activities; sports clubs, play centres and high-footfall SMEs such as pubs. From a high of over 40 identified ‘pinch-points’ in 2021, only three now remain. However, in each of these areas, there is some capacity available.

The Office will now be chaired by Minister of State Troy and he has recently begun a round of intensive engagement with key stakeholders including Insurance Ireland and the main insurers in the Irish market to set out the Government’s expectation that savings arising from the reform agenda will be reflected via reduced premiums, as well as increased availability of cover.

In conclusion, a key focus of the Office will be building upon the previous Government's achievements in insurance reform, progressing the impact of these reforms and continuing to encourage increased capacity within the Irish market.