There is very grim reading for motorists today. Motor insurance is up a whopping 9% in just 12 months. It is now at its highest level in five years and more than double the EU average. There is no mystery as to what is driving this. It is profiteering, plain and simple, off the back of ordinary people trying to get to work and get their kids to school. Insurance companies here boast profits above and beyond what they make elsewhere, with profit margins two and three times the industry average. All the while, the Government stands impotent on the sidelines. Savings arising from reforms passed by the Dáil have not been passed on to customers. Instead, insurance companies are lining their pockets, and it has been a bonanza for them. Why does the Government continue to block Sinn Féin legislation that will ensure savings go back to customers and not into the pockets of the insurance companies?

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The programme for Government includes a commitment to facilitate faster data releases from the national claims information database, NCID, to further enhance transparency and accountability. This report helps to deliver that commitment. In 2018, the average earned premium was €702. It is now 18% lower, at €575. That speaks to some of the reforms that were introduced. Insurance reform, including increasing affordability and accessibility of insurance, remains a key priority for the Government. After considerable progress in this area to bring down premiums over that trend of years, we need to redouble our efforts.

Stop blocking our legislation.

In fairness, Deputy Doherty has been proactive in this area over recent years.

He certainly has.

We will work across the House to strengthen insurance reform and bring forward a new programme of reform over the term of this Government.

We will not be going over time. I call Deputy Bacik.

We will work across the Oireachtas on the measures that can be taken.

Stop blocking the legislation.