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Dáil
‹ An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Motorcycle event insurance

Summary

Deputy Mattie McGrath says motorcycle and motorsport events cannot get insurance in the Republic and the season is being lost. The Taoiseach says a sector-wide group scheme is usually the best solution and will ask a Minister of State to engage.

I have asked the Taoiseach a few times about the situation regarding motorcycles and motorcycle events. The Faugheen 50 has been running for decades in my county of Tipperary and it cannot get insurance. There are different clubs and organisations across the country involved in carting, quad racing or motorcycling events, all carried on safely with health and safety officers and everybody else present, but they just cannot get insurance in the Republic. They can get it in Northern Ireland. Absolutely no effort is being made and the season is slipping away from them. These give huge added value to the communities where they are run, and to the people who sell the machinery, equipment and parts. People are entitled to enjoy their sport. We all go to horse racing, GAA matches etc. This sport has been abandoned. While some people here have no interest in it, many people excel at it. It is worth a lot to the economy. For some people who love it, it is their livelihood. They have failed to get insurance. There have been some meetings with junior Ministers, but no effective effort by the Government to sort out this insurance racket.

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Leo Varadkar The Taoiseach Fine Gael

Generally, what works best in this kind of scenario is for the industry and the sector to come together and negotiate a group scheme. We ran into this issue with childcare and came up with a solution. We ran into this issue with adventure sports and adventure centres and came up with a solution. That is the thing that will make a difference. I will certainly let the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, know that it has been raised again and see if she can engage with them further.

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