Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 July 2019
948. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prosecutions within the past five years of persons who have submitted false or misleading insurance claims, by personal injury claims and home insurance claims, in tabular form. [34247/19]
View answerI am sure the Deputy will be aware of the detailed discussion which took place at the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach on 9 July. Deputy Commissioner Twomey and Chief Superintendent Lordan, of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, had an open discussion with the Committee members in relation to insurance fraud investigation; including whether data was available on the level of prosecutions and convictions under the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004.
As noted by Deputy Commissioner Twomey, while there have been convictions for insurance fraud, the data is not easily collated; due to the complexity of these investigations, and the numerous offences that can arise ("insurance fraud" itself is not a defined offence). An Garda Síochána committed to providing further statistical data to the Committee at a future date. I too have asked for sight of this data, once compiled.
In relation to the 50 incidents of insurance fraud reported to An Garda Síochána from 1 November 2018 to 31 May 2019 (referred to in response to parliamentary question 325 of 11 July), An Garda Síochána noted that all were at different stages of investigation. Deputy Commissioner Twomey noted that decisions with regard to prosecution are awaited on some of the 50, while others are still in the early stages of investigation.
