I thank the Ceann Comhairle. The Tánaiste will probably know that the Central Bank reported this week on motor insurance. It gives us a welcome transparency on this sector. For standard injury cases, it shows that the cost of litigation is ten times the cost of going through the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, yet we see litigation on the increase and the PIAB losing a share of those injury cases. It also shows that even though three quarters of the cases over €40,000 are going for litigation, litigation actually does not deliver for the claimant any more than going through the PIAB. A big amount of money is going into the legal pot. Are there ways that we can drive up the numbers going through the PIAB which will bring down premiums and give a better deal to people who make claims?

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and, as he may know, I am head of the ministerial committee on insurance that is trying to deal with some of these issues. The report from the Central Bank that came out this week is very welcome and is helping to give us more transparency about the pricing of insurance. It is a matter of concern that the cost of claims has not gone up as much as premiums. Claims have gone up but premiums have gone up by more.

There is also the issue that the Deputy has identified where more and more people are not settling at the PIAB but are going to court, which is resulting in higher legal costs but not higher awards. The Minister of State, Deputy Troy, who is in my Department, has responsibility for the PIAB, and as part of our reform programme, we are considering mechanisms to strengthen the PIAB and make it the place where more people settle their claims.

That concludes Questions on Promised Legislation. Five Deputies have not been reached today.