Insurance Industry
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-18
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

I am conscious that I put a lot of information very quickly on the record of the Dáil in the interests of the finance spokespeople here and Deputy Doherty. I will perhaps put it in a letter to the finance committee. I did not get a chance to go through all of the data in the brief time available in these back and forth exchanges. I would just make a couple of points to the Deputy. First, I will engage with the Central Bank, as he has done, in relation to the points he has made. Second, what is of particular interest is that there is some variation over the years, even as opposed to which definition one uses. This is important when we look at the sector over a longer period. Of interest is that if we look at the sector from 2010 to 2024, which is a longer period of time, there is an average operating profit of 5% across all firms for private motor insurance and a 2.1% profit for the liability insurance market. That is across a much longer period, 2010 out to 2024. I am also advised that insurers have released capital reserves, positively impacting profitability in recent years. Profitability trends may not be reflected in future years as a result of reserve releases. That is worth monitoring. It is also important to note that wider cyclical and long-term trends provide a more accurate reflection of market profitability. I also point out we are trying to attract more players into this market for obvious reasons.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:29+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-18