Vol. 576 No. 5
74 Mr. Gilmore asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the recent findings of IBEC's national survey of business costs that the costs of doing business here were now spiralling out of control, with the cost of insurance the biggest factor; the steps she intends to take to deal with this situation, particularly the cost of insurance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29908/03]
I am aware of the recent findings of IBEC's national survey of business costs and I am concerned about the effect of high insurance costs on business. The insurance reform programme announced on 25 October 2002 comprises a comprehensive set of interrelated measures designed to improve the functioning of the Irish insurance market. Reductions have already occurred in the cost of insurance and further reductions are expected. It was particularly noteworthy that the CES cited lower insurance costs as a significant factor in the recent sharp reduction in the consumer price index. The key measures in the reform programme include: implementation of the recommendations in the Motor Insurance Advisory Board action plan within a target timeframe. To date 32 of the recommendations have been fully implemented, three have been partially implemented and work is in progress on the implementation of the other recommendations; establishment of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. The Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003 was published on 18 November 2003 and is currently before the Houses of the Oireachtas. It is hoped to enact the legislation by year-end. This Bill will, when enacted, provide for the establishment of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board on a statutory footing; and an undertaking by my Department and the Competition Authority of a joint study into the insurance market. The study will identify and analyse barriers to entry and limitations on rivalry in the insurance marketplace. It is envisaged that the bulk of the work will be completed this year and that a report will be produced in the early part of 2004.
I chair a ministerial committee established to drive the co-ordinated implementation of the reform programme across the relevant Departments and other bodies concerned. Substantial progress is being made on a range of measures that will radically overhaul the functioning of the insurance market and help tackle the high cost of insurance. These include measures to reduce the number of accidents, to tackle fraudulent and exaggerated claims and streamline the law in personal injury claims.
The insurance reform programme arose primarily as a result of the deliberations of the Motor Insurance Advisory Board. Many of the features mentioned above, which have the positive effect of reducing the cost of motor injury claims, apply equally to the cost of public liability and employers liability claims, in particular measures to tackle exaggerated claims as reflected in the Civil Liability and Courts Bill, and reductions in the cost of the delivery of settling claims which will be achieved by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board.
