The programme for Government includes a promise to do something about the cost of insurance. The Members opposite are the Government and Deputy Paschal Donohoe is the Minister for Finance. The cost of all types of insurance has gone up and it is affecting young and old. Today we had a presentation from a group which stated that people are not even being quoted for cars that are more than ten years old. If they are quoted, the cost is probably double what it was the year before. All these ten year old cars are being dumped and have to be scrapped. Will the Taoiseach do anything about insurance? It was in the programme for Government that he would but nothing has been done. The cost of insurance goes up and up.

The Deputy's time is up.

Will we have to bring someone like Seán Quinn back into the insurance industry? People could pay for insurance when he was involved.

I call Deputies Brian Stanley and Eamon Scanlon on the same matter.

People with 11 year old cars are being loaded with 50% to 60% additional costs. This is affecting people in rural Ireland, young drivers and people who get up early in the morning to go to work. There is no reason for loading in the case of second-hand cars that are 11 or 12 years old if they have a national car test, NCT, and are in perfect mechanical condition. From an environmental point of view, a recent report shows that the cost of manufacturing a new car, in terms of CO2 emissions, is the equivalent of driving 150,000 km in an average Ford Focus car. Those are the facts. The insurance industry is screwing and penalising people in rural Ireland, young drivers and older drivers. Cars of that age have an NCT every year and there is no reason to treat them differently from any other car. It is simply a way of picking the pockets of-----

The Deputy's time is up.

-----poor and low-income workers and pensioners.

In 2015, there were 44,300 owners of cars more than ten years old. In 2018, the number had increased to 139,300. There are many reasons for the increase, one of which is affordability because people cannot afford to change their cars as often. Another is that with the quality of cars today, if they are serviced and looked after, ten, 12, 14 or 15 year old cars can work perfectly. The insurance companies have been mentioned. The Insurance (Amendment) Bill must come before the House in order that we can debate this issue. Insurance companies have been ripping people off for too long and it is costing jobs. If they get their way on this issue, it will close down small garages throughout the country and cause a loss of revenue for the Exchequer. It will also devalue other people's cars because if cars are scrapped at ten years, no one will buy an eight year old car. This policy is having a serious knock-on effect.

I raise the same issue. An insurance company refusing to insure a car that has passed an NCT, whether it is owned by an older or young driver, is nothing short of discrimination. This practice has been raised by Deputies of all parties, including me, a number of times and needs to stop. What actions will be taken against these insurance companies or will they be allowed to continue to do as they please by ripping people off and discriminating?

The Insurance (Amendment) Bill will be before the House next week. That will be an opportunity to debate this issue and propose solutions. I do not know why the insurance industry adds premiums to older cars. I am sure it has a reason but it is important that it explains-----

It is a racket.

-----why that is done and if it is based on a genuine risk assessment or not. While there has been a significant increase in motor insurance premiums in recent years, some of the actions taken on foot of the report to the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, which are being followed through by the Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, have seen motor insurance policies and premiums stabilise in recent months. Indeed, they have fallen by about 20%.