asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will give details of the present financial position of the Insurance Compensation Fund; the sources and amounts of moneys paid into the fund; the amounts drawn from the fund in the past year; the organisations which benefit from such drawings; and the estimated timescale before discontinuance of the insurance levy which helps finance the fund.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Insurance Compensation Fund.
28.
The Insurance Compensation Fund is maintained and administered by the accountant of the High Court, acting under the control of the President of the High Court. An abstract of the accounts of the fund for each year is required to be furnished to the Minister by the accountant.
The latest year in respect of which such accounts have been submitted is 1984. These accounts show that the fund recorded a deficit of over £23 million at 31 December 1984, as a result of borrowing £30 million during 1984 for the purposes of the PMPA administration.
Contributions to the fund are being made by all non-life insurers at a rate of 2 per cent of gross premium income. To date, a total of nearly £26 million had been collected in this manner for the years 1984 and 1985.
Under the separate funding arrangements for the administration of the Insurance Corporation of Ireland involving the banking sector generally, announced by the Central Bank on 4 October 1985, the fund received a sum of £100 million in December 1985 for immediate on-lending to the corporation.
Advances from the fund during 1985 totalled £118 million, comprising £100 million to the administrator of ICI and £18 million to the administrator of PMPA. These advances were approved by the High Court.
The administrator's financial recovery programme for PMPA envisages that contributions to the fund will continue to be required until the mid-nineties.
There is a wealth of information there, if the Minister had delivered it a little slower. I take it that at the end of 1984 there was a deficit of £23 million in the compensation fund?
Yes.
And that the PMPA had drawn down some £30 million?
Yes.
Will the Minister agree that there will be a continuing deficit of increasing amounts in this fund until the year 2000? Will the Minister give an indication regarding the last part of my question as to when it is proposed to discontinue the levy which helped to fund that?
The Deputy will be aware from a previous reply that the recovery programme for the PMPA is on course and that the levy will be required up to the mid-nineties when it is hoped that this matter will be finally resolved. There will be deficits on the fund which, in turn, will, be funded by the levy because the moneys needed by the PMPA may be in large blocks, but the incoming money, since it is by way of a 2 per cent levy which averages roughly £12 million per annum, will over the period offset the loans to the PMPA fund.
A Cheann Comhairle——
Deputy Denis Lyons has three questions down and Deputy Flynn has taken ten minutes on two questions. The Chair wants to be fair to everybody.
The Minister has made very long replies. Can I ask him one question? What is the annual income from the levy to the fund?
A total of £11.913 million represents the contribution for 1984 and £13.934 million was in respect of contributions received to date for 1985, subject to a slight adjustment.
Then it will be 25 years before that fund——
Ceist 29. Will the Minister please reply?
Is that a help to the Deputy?
Yes.
I should emphasise that a recovery programme is on target for the PMPA.