Written Answers Nos. 68-82
79. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the legislative steps planned to tackle the ongoing high cost of insurance, especially motor insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4312/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, the Cost of Insurance Working Group was established in July 2016 to identify and examine the drivers of the cost of insurance and to recommend short, medium and long term measures, legislative and otherwise, to address the issue of increasing insurance costs, taking account of the requirement for the need to ensure a financially stable insurance sector.
The Working Group published its Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance in January 2017 and made 33 recommendations, along with a detailed Action Plan.
Legislative steps were recommended in a number of areas, in particular for my own Department. These are as follows:
- Establishment of the National Claims Information Database in the Central Bank of Ireland, through the Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Bill, of which the General Scheme was published in December 2017;
- Implementation of the Review of the Framework for Motor Insurance Compensation in Ireland, through the Insurance (Amendment) Bill, currently being drafted with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel;
- Transposition of the Insurance Distribution Directive, through transposing regulations currently being drafted; and
- Consideration, with the Central Bank, of amending the relevant regulations regarding communications between insurers and consumers, with regard to premium information and renewal notice periods, which is currently being consulted on.
With regard to other Departments, legislative steps were recommended including:
- Enhancement of the powers of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, through the PIAB (Amendment) Bill, of which the General Scheme was published in July 2017;
- Consideration of measures necessary to implement Pre-Action Protocols for personal injury cases, through relevant consultation and publication of Heads of Bill, which is currently being developed;
- Prepare criminal justice legislation if required to implement a fully functioning integrated insurance fraud database, which has yet to be finally determined; and the
- Requirement for insurance companies to provide the driver licence number as part of work to establish a fully functioning database to identify uninsured drivers, through a proposed amendment of the Road Traffic Act 2016. This is currently being considered as part of the broader review of the database work.
Quarterly updates provide more detailed information on the implementation of each of the Recommendations and Actions. The fourth quarterly update is scheduled to be published within the next few weeks and will be included a full update on each recommendation.
81. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance his plans to put forward candidates for president and board members of the European Central Bank; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3996/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt the Eurogroup meeting of Eurozone Finance Ministers on 22 January, the Eurogroup President initiated the procedure for the appointment of a new Vice-President of the European Central Bank with a call for candidacies. The term of the incumbent, Vítor Constâncio, ends on 31 May 2018. Other board member appointments do not arise until 2019.
With regard to the position of Vice President, the Eurogroup will agree on a candidate on 19 February and ECOFIN will adopt a formal recommendation to the European Council on 20 February.
The European Parliament and European Central Bank will then deliver opinions on the recommendation with the appointment scheduled to be agreed at the European Council on 22 March. The new Vice President will take up their post on 1 June 2018.
I today informed the Government of my decision to nominate Professor Philip Lane, Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, to the position of Vice-President of the European Central Bank.
Professor Lane’s outstanding economic, financial and policy making record ideally position him to take a seat at the Executive Board of the European Central Bank. I had previously stated that when and if Ireland puts forward a candidate to the ECB’s Executive Board, they will be an exceptionally well qualified person. There can be no doubt that Governor Lane is such a person of calibre and recognised standing.
82. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Finance the status of the implementation of the report on the cost of insurance working group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4299/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra93. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Finance the status of the implementation of the recommendations made in the report by his Department's working group on reducing the cost of motor insurance; the number of recommendations that have not been implemented to date; the reason for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3998/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra108. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Finance the status of the progress of implementation of the recommendations from the report on the cost of motor insurance [4298/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 82, 93 and 108 together.
The Cost of Insurance Working Group’s Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance was published in January 2017 and makes 33 recommendations with 71 associated actions to be carried out in agreed timeframes, which are set out in an Action Plan.
In line with the commitment to publish quarterly update reports on the implementation of the recommendations of the Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance, the Working Group has published three update reports to date, most recently on 23 October 2017. I am pleased to note that of the 32 actions due for completion before the end of the third quarter of 2017, 29 have been completed. Substantial work has also taken place in respect of the nine action points categorised as “ongoing”.
Of the three actions which have not been fully completed to date, two of them relate to the same recommendation, which requires the approval of the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Garda Commissioner for potentially far-reaching co-operative mechanisms between Insurance Ireland and An Garda Síochána to be formalised. The other outstanding action is contingent on the establishment of the new Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators, now scheduled for later this year.
The fourth quarterly update will be published within the next few weeks and will focus on the 14 actions which were due for completion in the final quarter of 2017. All of the remaining actions are scheduled to be completed before the end of 2018.
It should be noted that the most recent CSO/CPI data (for December 2017) indicates that private motor insurance premiums have decreased by 16.3% since peaking in July 2016. While it is accepted that premiums are still at a very high level for many drivers, such statistics indicate at least a greater degree of stability in the market on an overall basis.
I believe that the ongoing implementation of the recommendations will continue to make a difference to the pricing of insurance premiums over the next 12 or so months. It is envisaged that the implementation of all the recommendations cumulatively, with the appropriate levels of commitment and cooperation from all relevant stakeholders, will achieve the objective of delivering fairer premiums for consumers.
