A high level Oireachtas committee's series of recommendations on reducing insurance costs has received a broad welcome from the business community.
The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) has welcomed a call by the joint Oireachtas Committee Committee on Enterprise and Small Business for a return to 1999 levels of insurance premiums.
The ISME says 17 per cent of small and medium enterprises identify insurance costs as their immediate biggest concern.
The association believes that a return to 1999 premium levels would result in a reduction of 220 per cent on average of premiums paid out by small business owners.
ISME chairman Mr Robert Berney said reductions in insurance premiums were "miserly" in comparison to the "exorbitant increases" borne by small businesses over the past five years.
He said it was important that immediate action was taken to "address the prohibitive factors that are preventing insurance reform". He added that the "full support" of the Government should be provided to ensure "speedier reform culminating in substantially reduced premiums".
The ISME's call came as Mr Donie Cassidy, chairman of the OIreachtas committee, announced that five of the State's major insurance companies have promised to reduce prices for policy holders.
Mr Cassidy was speaking at the publication of the committee's second interim report on insurance market reform today.
He said policy holders have not been getting a fair deal for the past three to four years but he said the industry had finally turned a corner and it was now time for policy holders "to reap the reward".
The Westmeath TD said insurance company profit increases last year of as much as 332 per cent should allow for a reduction in premiums.
He warned that substantial reductions would be needed if the cost of insurance, which skyrocketed between 2000-2002, was to return to 1999 levels. The increase has had "an appalling effect on business and consumers," Mr Cassidy said.
The Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) also welcomed the report but said more direct intervention is needed to drive down insurance costs.
CCI President Mr Mark Staunton said the report was "high on aspirations" but that action must follow.
"This report is a stark reminder of how much more can be done towards making a sizeable difference to the cost of insurance in this country. And so we challenge the Government to implement these key recommendations without delay," he said.
Fine Gael's enterprise spokesman, Mr Phil Hogan was also positive about the report.
He called for the committee's recommendation that the long-standing proposal for the creation of a traffic corps to ahead.
He said the move would reduce road fatalities as well as premiums and urged the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, to take the necessary legal steps to create the corps either as part of the Garda Síochána or separately.
"Whatever the legal implications, it is certainly no excuse for inaction ... a dedicated Traffic Corps would free up resources and allow the Gardaí to devote more resources to policing road safety legislation," Mr Hogan said.
