Cost of Motoring: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2025-11-12
============================================================

Pa Daly (SF), Kerry

If ever anybody in this State needed proof or evidence that the Government does not care about the cost-of-living crisis or the increased costs on motorists, they can see it in the Minister's own speech from earlier on. He said that this House should reject the Sinn Féin Private Members' motion and instead support the Government's countermotion on this matter. The Government did not even bother to lodge a countermotion. It is farcical in the replies the Minister gave earlier on that he mentioned he is aware that motorists are penalised in that if they cannot pay upfront, they pay an extra 5% in increments. He knows about it but is not doing anything about it except for a Bill that he is announcing some time in the new year. He knows as well that despite carbon tax increases not being effective because people have no choice in what they do, he is not going to reverse the carbon tax increases. The funny thing is that despite all the money paid in taxes, the Government is going to continue with the toll increases. The Government does not need to do this. It is mean and unfair. It is punishing commuters and people who have to go to school, college or the doctor's.
The biggest laugh of all is that in tackling the insurance cost, the Government argued that our Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021 does not take into account the significant work undertaken by the Government. It is not working.
For 40 years, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been doing everything that the insurance companies want them to do, hoping against hope that motor premiums will reduce. When claims fell by 40%, premiums fell only by 5%. The Minister's statement goes on to say that it "could potentially undermine" the Government's efforts. It is hardly going to do that when the best that he could come up with was the introduction, sometime in the future, of a new code for insurance companies. This is not mandating them. Rather than bringing in legislation, it is bringing in a new code, to which it is hoped the insurance industry will sign up. The amount of leeway that is being given to insurance companies is laughable. What we propose is not radical. It is common sense. It is fairness. It is not left or right; it is what people need now. The Government should not hide behind excuses anymore or pretend that its hands are tied. It is sitting on its hands at the moment. It has the power to act against the rip-offs and against the cost-of-living increases but it is doing nothing about it.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-11-12/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:05+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-11-12