Insurance premiums for small businesses
Deputy Brady highlighted spiralling insurance costs, especially for adventure tourism businesses, and asked for intervention. The Minister for Finance said Government could not force insurers to change premiums but was working on reforms and greater competition.
There is a crisis impacting on small businesses across the State. It is the escalating and spiralling insurance premiums that we see increase annually. The adventure tourism sector is worth more than €1.2 billion to this State and has seen the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland's Ancient East be successful initiatives. Businesses are being forced to close down in that sector. Five businesses that I am aware of have closed down recently because of spiralling insurance premiums. Another business that I am working with, Bray Adventures, had a premium of €600 last year. The quote that it got this year was for €10,000, a massive increase. It eventually secured insurance for €900, which is still a significant increase, but it has had to scale back the types of activities that it can offer to individuals.
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It has never had any claims. Its staff are trained and have the highest qualifications. There are no issues there. When will the Taoiseach and Minister personally intervene to ensure that insurance premiums are forced down-----
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-----and that insurers are told that these hikes need to stop? This is what reform is. Reform means that these premiums need to be forced to come down.
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I would like to reform the time system and ask Deputies to comply with the orders of the House.
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The Government is well aware of the pressure that is being placed on small companies in particular due to the increase in insurance premiums. I hope the Deputy is well aware that no Government can force a company which is providing a financial service to change its premiums. We had a debate about this issue earlier today during questions to me and a number of Deputies called for more insurance companies to come into Ireland to provide more competition. The Government can look at changes that we can make. We do our part and we have to ensure that the insurance companies do their part too. That is what we are doing. The key issue about which there have been calls to address for so long is the level of awards being issued in our courts. The Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, has made great progress with the co-operation of the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, on the Judicial Council Bill to create an environment in which guidelines can be issued about awards.
With the co-operation of the Oireachtas, we hope that legislation can be passed before the summer recess.