I move amendment No. 4a:
In page 12, subsection (1), line 46, after "State" to insert ", also by electronic means".
This is a simple amendment to the reference in the Bill to the publication of notice which states "shall publish or cause to have published a notice in 2 or more daily newspapers circulating in the State and in Iris Oifigiúil”. My amendment adds the words “also by electronic means”. I could almost stop at this stage because I am so sure the amendment will be accepted.
The Minister of State said on Second Stage:
Insurance undertakings must, for the sake of all other customers affected by the scheme, place annual notices in two or more national newspapers. These annual advertisements, the first of which is scheduled to take place in March, will generate public awareness of the scheme.
This is great because the Minister of State is trying to create public awareness of the scheme. It is important because the State is not an impartial observer in that it stands to benefit if those to whom this money is due are not found. Therefore, it is not just a question of placing notices in two newspapers to inform people and see if someone turns up. We must go out of our way to encourage people to look.
The Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, in responding to the previous amendment, spoke of the old days when insurance salesmen visited houses armed with sheaves of paper on which they wrote people's details. As a result, up to 500,000 policies are still on paper. He contrasted that with the modern salesman who comes equipped with a laptop and a modern way of doing things. Despite this, we still insist on this old fashioned way of informing members of the public of the issue of unclaimed policies by placing notices in Iris Oifigiúil and two newspapers. This presumes everyone either buys or reads these publications. There are many newspapers in circulation in Ireland, some of which are not Irish. Some people who read tabloids would never be likely to come across the notices if they were placed in the publications mentioned.
There is, however, a simple, easy and cost-effective way of communicating this information, namely, on the websites of insurance companies. We must ensure this notice regarding unclaimed policies is included on the website of each insurance company. All such undertakings have websites which contain many details, such as address and telephone number, and which should include the notice in question. Using electronic means of communication is an essential part of modern living. I do not know if the wording used in the amendment is correct, but I believe it to be.
As I said this morning, it is almost like somebody in the 16th century proposing the employment of the town crier to go around and tell people, because they did not really believe the printing press would work. If the State existed in the 1890s this kind of legislation would have proposed publicising in two newspapers circulating in the State. We are not in the 1900s but in 2003 and we are using the same sort of words.
I urge the Minister to take into account that when trying to seek out claimants we should make sure information is readily available. Someone living a long way from Dublin who needs to be contacted can simply look at the website to see this information. The alternative is they have to write if they hope to be contacted some way or another. Using Iris Oifigiúil or two newspapers circulating in the State is like something that would have happened 100 years ago. Let us assume there is no cost to this. Every insurance undertaking has a website and it would be a simple matter to include this information there. I urge the Minister to accept the amendment.