Earlier this year, the Alliance for Insurance Reform made a presentation to the Department of Finance which outlined that as many as 35 sectors were either struggling to get insurance or could not obtain insurance at all. That list continues to grow. Throughout the summer months, numerous businesses offering a myriad of activity to all ages were forced to close. They had either completely failed to get insurance or the cost was such that it made no economic sense for them to continue.

The most recent casualty of the prohibitive cost of insurance is the horse sport sector. While the outside impression of horse sport might not garner the same level of public support as crèches, children's activities and playgrounds, its demise should not be determined by money-grabbing insurance companies. The horse sports sector is a vast industry overall. Horse sport is a major employer in rural Ireland and an intrinsic part of the fabric of Irish life. A 2014 study carried out by University College Dublin, UCD, found that the Irish horse sport industry contributed in excess of €708 million to the economy each year and provided the equivalent of 12,500 full-time jobs. National hunt horses, by definition, emerge from the hunting field. So too do most national hunt jockeys and many showjumpers, event riders and others.

Insurance companies are stating that due to the number of claims being made, no commercial underwriters are willing to renew liability insurance to cover hunts in Ireland. Failure to provide liability insurance for hunts means landowners cannot allow hunting to take place over their land. No access to land means no hunting. Commercial insurance companies have come to the conclusion that liability insurance for risk-taking sports is a no-win game for them. This is because of the way liability claims are handled in the Irish legal system. While hunting is one of the first horse sport pursuits to be affected, it will not be the last. Removing access to riding facilities, be they hunting facilities, riding schools, pony clubs or tracking trails, will inevitably undermine the resources and knowledge base of the equine world in Ireland.

The impact of this development is not linked to the hobby world. In recent weeks, it has resulted in the loss of insurance cover to the hunts that hold point-to-point meetings in Tipperary and across the country. Point-to-point racing is a product of hunting and is organised by the individual hunts. Without the hunts in Ireland, there will be no point-to-point meetings. Without point-to-point racing, there is no national hunt racing. The result will be that a major Irish agricultural industry involving the breeding, training and racing of national hunt horses will effectively disappear. Can the Government facilitate a short-term solution to this via the commercial insurance market and implement a long-term solution by means of an amendment to the liability legislation?

The Deputy has raised an important issue. Other Deputies have raised it in the context of the broad cost of insurance and the need to get it down across the board. The Deputy has specifically raised it in the context of the equine industry, particularly in terms of insurance for equestrian activities. As he pointed out, up to 14,000 jobs are created in the horse sport sector, predominantly in rural Ireland, according to an economic study carried out in UCD. The importance of that leisure sector to rural Ireland cannot be understated because real jobs and a whole ecosystem emanate from that in terms of the leisure sector, competition, sports horse breeding and so forth.

We are aware that high-risk activity sectors, including equestrian pursuits, are experiencing issues around accessibility and affordability of insurance. The latest national claims information database report shows that the public liability market in Ireland has been loss-making for several years and therefore has been unattractive to insurers. In addition, large insurance claims arising from incidents have an effect on premium prices across specific sectors. However, following recent intensive engagements with the insurance industry, I understand from the Department of Finance that some providers are considering the possibility of entering the equestrian sector. The Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, is available for consultations on this, given his responsibility for the broader area of insurance. I suggest that an engagement with him could further elaborate on that point.

The Department of Justice has recently completed a review of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1995, including the duty of care, notice and waivers, and the Minister for Justice has noted the Government's intention to bring forward legislative proposals to reform the law in this area. The planned rebalancing of the duty of care, with a view to applying a common sense approach to risk, is of particular relevance to equestrian activities as it will help to address so called slips, trips and falls. The introduction of the new personal injury guidelines set reduced levels for personal injury compensation awards in Ireland and changed the amounts of general damages to be awarded by the courts and the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB. Early data from PIAB demonstrated that award levels have declined by an average of 40%.

Insurance reform continues to be a major item of government. A sub-committee of Cabinet deals specifically across different Departments, and exclusively, with the issue of insurance. The office to promote competition in the insurance market has been established and is chaired by the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming. Its objective is to assist in reducing insurance costs and increasing the availability of cover by promoting competition in the insurance market.

A wider solution to the issue of liability claims awarded by the Irish courts is needed in the long term. I notice that recent measures have resulted in reports that insurance payouts have reduced by 40%, yet the insurance companies remain staunchly rigid when determining risk. As a direct result of lack of insurance cover, horse sports face the immediate threat of extinction. This will have a serious social and economic impact on everyone involved in the sport.

Insurance companies have made massive profits for the past two years. A lower claim base caused by reduced activity due to Covid restrictions has given them a financial bonanza. They have intensified their cherry-picking and as a result, increasing numbers of sectors cannot get insurance cover. This is having enormous consequences for our economy and the cultural and sporting life of the nation. I ask the Taoiseach to ensure his Minister of State with responsibility for insurance intensifies his efforts to get some result on this from the insurance companies.

The Government is focused on a multifaceted approach, introducing different Acts and reform of PIAB. The personal injury guidelines that were recently introduced are already having a significant impact, as the Deputy and I said, but that has to filter down to the cost of insurance. The insurance companies have an obligation in that respect and they need to step up to the plate because the various measures committed to have been delivered in terms of legislative change, of which there is more to come, and also in terms of the personal injury guidelines and reform of PIAB. The Minister of State, Deputy Troy, is working on legislation to reform PIAB. The Government is, therefore, taking a multifaceted approach. The Government cannot directly intervene in the insurance market and states are prohibited from doing so under the EU Solvency II Directive on the insurance framework.

We have to create the right conditions and environment, and competition, within the market to ensure that we can drive prices down.