Vol. 556 No. 3
64 Mr. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the main features of her action plan for the insurance industry announced on 25 October 2002; her views on whether the interim Personal Injuries Assessment Board has sufficient powers; the timetable for the implementation of the different elements of the plan; her further views on whether these are adequate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20442/02]
The main features of the reform programme for the insurance industry, which the Tánaiste announced on 25 October 2002, are: the establishment of a ministerial committee, chaired by the Tánaiste, to oversee implementation of the reform programme, including the 67 recommendations in the Motor Insurance Advisory Board, MIAB, report; the publication of an action plan to give effect to the MIAB recommendations within a target timeframe; the establishment of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, on an interim basis, pending preparation of the necessary legislation to put the PIAB on a statutory footing; and the publication of the report of the implementation group of the PIAB.
An indicative, non-exhaustive list of tasks for the interim PIAB was attached to the press release about my reform programme, which was issued on 25 October 2002. The interim PIAB would clearly be free to add to that list in drawing up its work programme. The question of powers, as opposed to tasks, will come into play when the PIAB is being set up on a statutory basis.
It is an appalling state of affairs that a major enterprise centre in Dublin, the Liffey Trust, which burned to the ground recently, had no insurance cover. It sustained about 250 jobs and 40 businesses. Its founder, Mr. Séamus McDermott, has said that he could not secure insurance for the building, which will cost €7 million to replace. Perhaps the City Enterprise Board and the Minister of State's Department will have to find some of that funding. It is appalling that we have reached this juncture in dealing with insurance matters. Does the Minister of State agree that the key responsibility for this rests with the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Harney? For five and a half years she has dithered and done nothing about the most important problem facing the economy.
As I told Dublin City Council yesterday, it is time the Tánaiste resigned over her handling of the insurance industry, which constitutes a desperate state of affairs. I am a director of a number of small business centres in Dublin, a number of which are faced with the same difficulties in obtaining insurance cover. Every headmaster and school board of management has the same problem, as do parents of young drivers. The insurance issue is affecting the economy across the board, yet the Tánaiste has spent almost six years doing nothing about it.
At the very least, the Tánaiste should ask the Equality Authority to investigate premium costs for young drivers. As a result of the first report of the Motor Insurance Advisory Board, chaired by Ms Dorothea Dowling, we know that young men and women are being ripped off in a grotesque manner. The Tánaiste should order the Equality Authority to investigate this matter and produce a report on it urgently.
It is the responsibility of every enterprise to ensure it has insurance cover. Nobody can offer any excuse for an enterprise which does not ensure it has basic insurance cover. While we all sympathise with the loss suffered by the Liffey Trust, it is highly irresponsible for any enterprise, be it public or private, to leave itself without some basic insurance cover.
But the Tánaiste created the circumstances for this.
The Tánaiste and the Government recognise that insurance costs are a major concern for consumers and businesses alike. It was for that reason the Tánaiste made insurance a top priority, an area for which she has taken over responsibility.
After five and a half years, yes.
It took that length of time for Ms Dorothea Dowling and her board to come up with their excellent report which is now being acted upon. A clear timeframe for its implementation has been set out. A clear set of objectives has also been set out concerning a significant number of the MIAB's 67 recommendations. I am satisfied that the Tánaiste's efforts will yield results in helping to tackle the very high insurance costs about which we are all concerned. Some enterprises find it extremely difficult to get insurance.
"Impossible" is the word the Minister of State is looking for.
We will come up with solutions.
The target of the Tánaiste's famous plan – which comes five and a half years too late – of reducing insurance by one third over three years is a damp squib. It is a ludicrous target to have set. When will the Personal Injuries Assessment Board be established on a statutory basis? Does the Department have any views or policies on the recent proposals from the Irish Insurance Federation, which I think are reasonable, regarding a book of quantum affidavits, and the Bacon report for the Bar Council, which has also suggested important legal reforms?
We all accept that it is taking too long for insurance costs to be reduced. The Deputy will agree, however, that for the first time the root causes of high insurance costs have been identified. These are now the subject of 67 recommendations. The stakeholder responsibility has been identified and an implementation timeframe set down. My Department's officials are working to establish the PIAB on a statutory basis. A number of other initiatives are also under way, including the study being undertaken by the Department and the Competition Authority. The specific areas mentioned by the Deputy are covered in the recommendations. The action plan will address the issues he has raised.
