Yesterday, agents from the European Commission competition directorate raided the offices of motor insurance providers in Ireland as part of an investigation into anti-competitive practices. The Commission said it had concerns that the companies involved may have engaged in anti-competitive practices in breach of European Union anti-trust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices or abuse of a dominant market position. In a separate development, it emerged that the offices of Insurance Ireland were visited by compliance officers as part of a European Union investigation into access to two databases used by insurance providers in the Republic. The investigations are on foot of complaints from new entrants to the market. The databases involved are Insurance Link and the Integrated Information Data Service, which were dealt with by an Oireachtas committee in some length over a year ago.

When most people heard this news, they said at long last somebody is doing something to stop the great rip-off of consumers by motor insurance companies and the insurance industry in general. We have witnessed increases of over 60% or more since 2011, 51% from 2014 onwards in motor insurance itself. These are extraordinary increases which people have experienced. People are generally fed up with what they perceive to be total inaction and ineffective interventions to give some fair play to consumers. They feel there are many platitudes and reports but no action. Essentially, it seems the Government stood by while these incredible increases were allowed to take place without any effective intervention.

Back in November, the Oireachtas all-party committee on finance finalised its report and raised the necessity of access to the two databases referred to as a matter of urgency. That recommendation was based on an earlier Department of Finance report in June 2016. Essentially, it seems it has taken Europe and the European Commission to shine a light on this, shake it up and seriously engage with the issues. It is not just car insurance but other areas of insurance. Many businesses have come under pressure in this regard. Most people would accept that when they went looking for car insurance over the past several years there was little evidence of any competition in the marketplace.

Will the Taoiseach accept that the Government's response, as well as that of the agencies involved such as the Central Bank, raises questions as to how the insurance industry has been progressing in recent times? Will he accept the Government's response has been pathetically slow in dealing with this crisis for many consumers? Is the tolerance threshold for anti-competitive behaviour too high? That is a fundamental question we need to ask ourselves. Why has access to the two databases, in particular, been so restrictive? The industry has made all sorts of claims over the past several years, but they are not verifiable because of the absence of transparent comprehensive data.

I do not want to comment in detail on yesterday’s raids because they form part of an ongoing investigation by European authorities. Nobody in this House wants to say anything that could prejudice that investigation.

However, the whole issue of rising insurance costs is a big one and is severely impacting on individuals, families and businesses. It is not just the rising cost of motor insurance, but also home and business insurance, all of which have gone up considerably in recent years and have had a considerable impact on households and businesses.

Much action has been taken. As the Deputy will be aware, over the past several months, the insurance task force, headed up by the then Minister of State, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, reported and measures have been taken to implement its findings, including a fraud register, changes to the book of quantum and legislation, just approved by the Cabinet, to ensure better use of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. We are already seeing results. For example, this year so far, insurance costs have moderated and, in some cases, have actually fallen.

Where?

In Canada?

However, what we want to see is a significant improvement in insurance costs, not just moderation.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission advised the Department of Finance that the raids in question were not connected to its current investigation of the motor industry. In addition, a press release from the European Commission stated:

The European Commission can confirm that [on 4 July 2017] its officials carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of companies active in motor insurance in the Republic of Ireland.

The Commission has concerns that the companies involved may have engaged in anti-competitive practices in breach of EU anti-trust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices and/or abuse of a dominant market position.

The Commission officials were accompanied by their counterparts from the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

Unannounced inspections are a preliminary step into suspected anti-competitive practices. The fact that the Commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation. The Commission respects the rights of defence, in particular the right of companies to be heard in any [anti-trust] proceedings.

There is no legal deadline to complete inquiries into anti-competitive conduct. Their duration depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of each case, the extent to which the companies concerned co-operate with the Commission and the exercise of the rights of defence.

We all know the last section. However, people will be somewhat taken aback by the Taoiseach’s comment that we are getting results. Most people are angry when the car insurance bill comes in. It is a serious hit on people's disposable income. When one looks at the scale of the increases over the past four to five years, over 60% from 2012 onwards, these are extraordinary increases. Task forces have done nothing. I recall in the early 2000s when the Personal Injuries Assessment Board was established, it was effective at that time in getting spiralling costs under control.

There seems to have been an acceptance of the insurance industry’s claims around the high cost of awards, etc, without verification. The 2016 Oireachtas committee recommended an integrated insurance database service be completed as a matter of urgency, that it must be independently verified, policed by the Central Bank of Ireland to ensure it is correctly populated, that it becomes an open source of information available to all insurance companies, all brokers and intermediaries, and any foreign insurance companies seeking to enter the Irish insurance market. In other words, there is a sense of a closed shop to new entrants and the lack of competition is an area the Government has not addressed over the past several years. It has been pathetically slow in following through on recommendations made. It has taken the European Commission to wake everybody up in official Ireland with regard to the insurance industry. It has been an incredible and unacceptable rip-off of customers in our society. Who protects the consumer?

The Deputy has exceeded his time.

Is the tolerance threshold too high for anti-competitive forces in our economy and society? That is the basic question I want to put to the Taoiseach given what has happened over the past several years.

The actions that occurred yesterday, the actions taken by the Competition Authority in the past and by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in recent times, show real evidence that action is being taken to enforce competition law and ensure no collusion or cartels exist among businesses seeking to fix prices.

We all acknowledge in this House that insurance costs have increased considerably in the past couple of years and that this has had an impact on motor, home and business insurance which, of course, affects individuals, families, businesses and homeowners. That is why we established the task force under the Minister, Deputy Murphy. That task force reported not too long ago. As I mentioned earlier, measures are being taken to moderate the rise in insurance costs. The rise has moderated. It is now a question of bringing those costs down. It is important that insurance costs do come down. The Government will take whatever actions it can take to ensure this. It could be achieved, for example, through better use of the Personal Injuries Board, putting together the necessary databases, using a register of fraud and by having a revised quantum, work on which is now under way. In addition, the building of a real Single Market across Europe in terms of services is a factor. We often talk about a Single Market in Europe but it is evident in some areas that we do not really have one. It should be much easier for people in Ireland to buy their insurance from other countries.