The reported plans by insurance companies to increase motor premiums by a further 10% is outrageous.

Motor insurance companies have reportedly blamed this on a rise in fraudulent claims and uninsured drivers. Yet there is absolutely no justification for this price hike given that premiums have already increased by 15% over the past year according to the CSO and that the number of road collisions and fatalities continues to fall. The Injuries Board has also reported that it has not seen any rise in personal injuries claims this year. This is clearly just another attempt to profit on the backs of hardpressed drivers.

A 10% hike in car insurance costs would be a completely unacceptable extra financial burden on motorists and their families many of whom are already struggling to pay their mortgages and other household bills. Minister Dempsey and the Tanaiste and Enterprise Minister Mary Coughlan must now urgently act to stop this blatant rip-off of motorists in the insurance sector.

There are a number of other ongoing discriminatory practices in the car insurance industry that Ministers Dempsey and Coughlan should also urgently investigate including allegations that some motor insurance companies are refusing to provide a quote for unemployed people. Access to a car is often essential for people looking for work and discriminating against the thousands of citizens who have unfortunately lost their jobs in the recession is appalling and should not be allowed to continue.

The insurance industry was also deeply involved in the system of reckless financial malpractice which created the present banking collapse. It is intolerable that ordinary citizens should now be asked to pay once again for the appalling misbehaviour of the insurance and finance industries. I hope to raise this matter in the forthcoming NAMA committee debates.