The issue of rising insurance costs is a massive problem impacting many individuals and small businesses throughout the State. Businesses are having to curtail their activities. Many have had to close their doors. Jobs are being lost and communities are suffering because of the painstakingly slow pace of insurance reform.

We heard here last month from Linda Murray from Navan who broke down before the finance committee, begging for the livelihoods of her staff to be saved. An Teachta Pearse Doherty has previously raised the case of a soft play centre in Donegal which saw its premiums rise by 160% last year from €2,500 in 2017 to €6,500 in 2018. That is despite the fact that it had not made even one claim.

Two days ago in my own constituency the Fingal Adventure Centre announced that it will not be able to operate on the north beach in Rush this summer because of - these are its words, not mine - "the astronomical insurance" quote that it had received. This is a centre that was a favourite of many young people locally, as well as tourists. Its absence and the revenue that it generates for Rush and the surrounding area will be a major loss.

This is a really serious issue. Some of this is down to fraud. I accept that. Fraud and bogus claims are definitely a problem. I raised this issue here yesterday and repeat the call that has been made on numerous occasions for the establishment of a Garda insurance fraud unit to help stamp out fraudulent claims. However, more of this is down to blind profiteering on the part of the insurance industry and that must be stamped out also.

To ensure this happens we need a real commitment from the industry that price reductions will accompany reforms and we need to see proposed reforms as soon as possible. Despite the seriousness of all this we have yet to see the Government's proposed amendments to the Judicial Council Bill. When will the amendments be published and when will the Bill be back from the Seanad to the Dáil? This needs to happen very quickly and it certainly needs to be enacted before the summer recess. I ask the Minister to give that commitment.

In conjunction with that, will the Government secure a commitment from the industry that insurance costs will come down?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is a matter of acute concern for every one of us. There is huge pressure at play, particularly in the context of employer liability and public liability insurance. There have been improvements on the motor insurance side, with premiums down by over 20% in the past 12 months. However, that is not having an impact in this critical areas. The Deputy is correct in stating that we need a quid pro quo in respect of the string of reforms that we are introducing. We introduced reforms in respect of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, and streamlined the process relating to it. We also introduced reforms aimed at securing greater sharing of data. We have introduced an economic crime bureau within the Garda and this is providing briefings to officers in all divisions on how to recognise and address fraudulent claims. We have improved the system for reporting fraudulent claims by the insurance companies. There is a string of changes and, as the Deputy rightly said, the Minister will be presenting those changes to the House as soon as the relevant Bill completes its progress through the Seanad. Said changes have been approved by Government. They will be with in the Seanad before being to the Dáil.

I echo the Deputy's view that we need to see a quid pro quo from the insurance sector. We cannot have the future of businesses undermined in this way and we need the progress that we are seeing on the motor insurance side being repeated in the other areas. In 2018, a set of recommendations were agreed and virtually all have been implemented. We have yet to see evidence of their impact on the public liability and employers' liability. The insurance companies have a responsibility to ensure that they match the efforts being made by this House, the Garda, the PIAB and many others, including the Judiciary, which will now guidelines as to how excessive claims should be addressed. The system is responding but we need to see an outcome for people.

I asked fairly specific questions, one of which relates to the Judicial Council Bill 2017 and the amendments to it. We have heard repeated requests for co-operation from Opposition parties but it is difficult for us to co-operate if the amendments have not even been published.

I also requested that the Government give consideration to the establishment of a Garda insurance fraud unit. The Minister's statement to the effect that we are yet to see the impact of these recommendation is fair enough but we are seeing the impact of the lack of urgency day in, day out. Many of these companies will operate over the summer and they are now having to make decisions on their insurance. The cost of insurance is astronomical and the job losses are real and immediate. When one talks to the campaign groups and the small business owners, they indicate that there is no sense of urgency on the part of the Government to deal with this matter and that they do not see any real effort being made to tackle it. Unfortunately, the Minister's reply will not give them any comfort. Can the Minister advise when the amendments will be published and will he indicate whether will consideration be given to the establishment of a Garda insurance fraud unit?

The position is that the amendments will be published shortly. In the debate in the Seanad, it was clear there was a consensus for this change. The Minister committed to drafting the changes. They were approved at heads-of-the-Bill stage by Government and the detailed drafting is occurring in the Attorney General's office. It is the determination of the Minister for Justice and Equality to bring those to the Seanad and from there to here in order that they can be transposed into law at the very earliest date. There is no foot-dragging in respect of this matter.

The position was similar in the context of other legislation. We have passed legislation relating to the Central Bank and data. We also passed legislation in respect of the PIAB. We passed legislation to strengthen Garda powers in respect of fraud in this area. There is an active programme of reform and we need a quid pro quo from the insurance industry to match the efforts being made here.