Things are tetchy between the partners in government today. Yesterday it was announced that the European Commission, under the stewardship of the Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, is to undertake a formal antitrust investigation into Insurance Ireland's data pooling system. I welcome that announcement. It is a decision which will be welcomed by motorists across the State who are being crippled by the increased cost of insurance. However, this is not only an issue which affects motorists. Rising insurance costs impact on people from all walks of life, on business, on farmers, on marts, and on community festivals up and down the country.

Very serious allegations are being levelled at the insurance industry here: that it operates a cartel to the detriment of new entrants to the market and ultimately to customers who are being fleeced. It beggars belief that it has taken the European Commission to step in here when it is clear that insurers have been ripping off policyholders for years and the Government has consistently refused to act on serious issues that have been raised.

In 2016, on the initiative of my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach produced a report on the rising cost of motor insurance. Its first recommendation was "an end to any sort of “closed shop” mentality prevailing among existing insurers in the market – full access to data must be made available to all new entrants." Since then, Insurance Ireland has continued to operate as normal and has brazenly opposed sensible attempts to bring greater transparency to the insurance industry. The Government must now regard insurers and their assertions in a manner that takes account of the very serious allegations that are levelled against them. That is why in addition to what I hope is a very speedy result to this investigation we see major reforms of how insurers do their business and treat their customers. We need to see a commitment to bring down prices as changes to awards are brought in and crucially we need new legislation to put manners on the insurance industry.

Sinn Féin has a Bill, the Consumer Insurance Contracts Bill, which passed Second Stage in the Dáil unanimously, and was supported by the Government, to reform and modernise the law in respect of insurance contracts. Since that passed Second Stage, the Government has stymied the Bill's progress and has blocked it from going any further. It has dragged its heels on this issue for far too long. It is clear that the Government's kid gloves approach towards the insurance industry has failed and that it must end.

Will the Taoiseach give a commitment that the Government will allow the Bill to progress? Will it ensure that it is passed to bring the insurance industry to heel and that it will act decisively in the interest of policyholders and consumers?

I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue. It is one which is very much coming up on the doorsteps and has been for quite some time. Insurance costs in Ireland are very high. This impacts on drivers, patients or potential patients with health insurance, business people, farmers, community organisations and in particular, when it comes to motor insurance, people who have returned to Ireland from abroad who find real difficulties in getting insurance.

We all know that the Government does not set premiums. It is a private market and no matter what, it will always be the case that the amount coming in in premiums must roughly match the amount paid out in claims. That is the essential equation which is behind insurance, with the difference being the insurance companies' profits.

This is a priority for Government. The Minister of State in the Department of Finance, Deputy D'Arcy, has a special role in this issue to bring down the cost of insurance for Irish people, citizens and businesses. We have seen some progress. Motor insurance is down about 20% from its peak in 2016. It needs to fall further. Health insurance which had been increasing every year has stabilised for the past two or three years, largely as a result of legislation we brought in on lifetime community rating which has succeeded in stopping the increases in health insurance prior to that. This year we have already passed about three new laws around insurance. However, it will take some time for the effects of those laws to be seen in the premiums charged to people and businesses. The next step is the Judicial Council Bill which is working its way through the Houses. It will enable the Judiciary to come up with new advice and guidelines on appropriate levels of compensation payable to people if they have been injured. Getting that through by the summer recess is the next important step, as well as having the judicial council set up and having it draw up guidelines ideally by the end of the year. As with all the reforms, and was the case with lifetime community rating in health insurance, it may be a year or two after the law is enacted before its results are evident in premiums moderating or falling.

The Taoiseach has confirmed what we all know, namely, that insurance premiums having skyrocketed by 70% between the years 2013 and 2016 are only now moderating. We all know that drivers, particularly younger drivers, have been locked out of obtaining insurance for a long time. The Taoiseach talks a good game but his claim that this has been a priority for Government is at odds with the facts. The Bill I mentioned came through the House in 2017 and the Government has actively blocked it by refusing to sign a money message for more than two years. The Bill then went out to a public consultation that was not necessary. It is only now, precisely because this issue is arising on the doorsteps, that the Government has very reluctantly agreed to move and to act on the legislation. This Bill is about revamping insurance contracts and introducing a very necessary level of transparency.

I ask the Taoiseach again, in the interests of consumers, fair competition and above all people who are still being fleeced by insurance premiums that are through the roof if he will commit to allow the passage of this legislation without further impediment, put his money where his mouth is and demonstrate by action, however belated, that this is a priority for Government.

I am afraid I do not have that particular legislation in front of me but I will examine it again during the week to see if we can work with the Deputy's party to progress it. However, in the past year alone we have passed three new laws that deal with the issue of insurance and another Bill is currently working its way through the Houses. We are certainly not new to the game when it comes to acting on this issue. As mentioned previously, motor insurance premiums are down approximately 20% from the peak and health insurance premiums are stabilising and falling because of legislative action that was taken by this Government, particularly when it comes to long-term community rating.

In the context of the investigation announced yesterday, I am advised this is a formal anti-trust investigation into Insurance Ireland. The opening of this investigation follows inspections carried out in July 2017. I understand that the purpose of Insurance Link is to facilitate the detection of potentially fraudulent behaviour by insurance claimants and to ensure the accuracy of information provided by potential customers to insurance companies or to their agents. The Commission does not question that data-pooling arrangements can contribute to effective competition. However, in the case of Insurance Ireland its investigation will assess, in particular, whether the conditions imposed on companies wishing to participate in and access the Insurance Link database may have had the effect of placing these companies at a competitive disadvantage in the motor insurance market in comparison to companies already having access to the database.