Longford Westmeath general election candidate vows Fianna Fáil will tackle insurance crisis

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Robert Troy TD, has said that his party will introduce a significant number of measures to tackle insurance costs if elected to Government.

Speaking as he launched his party’s policy on insurance in Dublin today, Monday January 27, Deputy Troy said the lack of action from Government has seen premiums rise to exorbitant levels both for consumers and for businesses.

“Fine Gael’s hands-off approach on insurance has seen young drivers priced off the road. It’s seen numerous activity centres, play centres and creches close and festivals called-off,” said Deputy Troy.

“Their ambivalence has meant that special schools have had to use their capitation grants to cover insurance costs and pre-schools are seeking support from the Government to stay in business. Nursing homes are under threat and the entire hospitality industry has been struggling as insurers have left the market.

“The premiums have been driven up by fraud, large compensation awards and a lack of competition – the outgoing Government have known this for a long time and have done nothing about it.  Four years into this crisis not a single Cabinet Minister took the time to meet with insurers, despite repeated warnings from Fianna Fáil in the Dáil.  Fianna Fáíl used its very first Private Members’ Motion of the 32nd Dáil to push for action on this issue as we recognised that the situation was going from bad to worse.  We put forward multiple solutions the Government could use but they didn’t listen."

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Mr Troy said an interest was only taken when the general election was finally called, before reaffirming the commitment of Fianna Fáil to tackle the issue head on. 

He stated: “The first time any Cabinet Minister took an interest was days before this general election was called, when Paschal Donohoe eventually agreed to meet stakeholders in the insurance sector.  They had 9 years in government but waited until days before Leo Varadkar dissolved the Dáil.

“Fianna Fáil will tackle insurance costs for individuals and for businesses. We will get tough on insurance fraud and tackle anti-competitive behaviour.  We will fully establish the Judicial Council to provide guidance on personal injury claims. We will regulate claims management companies and review the ‘duty of care’ balance in legislation.

“We will establish a publicly funded Garda Fraud Unit, ensure that fraudulent claims are forwarded to the DPP for consideration, increase the penalties for fraudulent claims and publish insurance fraud data. We will make the market more transparent by giving the competition regulator (CCPC) effective enforcement powers to punish and deter anti-competitive conduct.

“The gravity of the insurance crisis demands an urgent response. Fianna Fáil will take immediate action if in Government,” said Deputy Troy.

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