I will be honest; this is mind-boggling. Insurance companies have been ripping off the Irish people for as long as I can remember. I am 57 years of age. I have been driving for 39 years and for 39 years these companies have ripped off me and everyone else in this State. People are struggling with the cost of living. They are struggling to put food on the table, to pay the rent and to keep the lights on and everyone needs to get to work, school, college or hospital appointments. You cannot depend on public transport. I live in Cork city, the second city in this State. Even in the cities, you cannot depend on public transport. You need to have a car if you need to get to appointments, work or college. The Government is allowing the insurance companies to laugh at the Irish people and to rip them off year in and year out. Deputy Doherty has brought forward facts and figures. He has outlined how these companies have ripped off the Irish people. He has brought forward Bills to tackle this rip-off. What is it? Why will the Government not tackle them? Are there vested interests involved? Is the Government afraid of upsetting the apple cart? What is the issue here? I have a daughter who is 19 years old. She has just learned how to drive. A couple of weeks ago, she passed her driving test on the first attempt, which is brilliant. She is going to college. She is doing a small bit of work part-time and going to college as well. Without me and her mother, she could not afford the insurance to drive our cars. I have a good job. I am a Teachta Dála. What about the other families out there? My wife is a schoolteacher. What about ordinary people who are on the average industrial wage or lower-income people? How are they supposed to survive? They must pay for car insurance, home insurance and all of these things. The Minister of State is getting his answers from his officials. Deputy Doherty has given him the answers but he has turned a blind eye time and again. It is time the rip-off is stopped. It is time the insurance companies are tackled. It is time this Government stood up on this issue once and for all.

Sentiment score: 0.01

To follow on, I see the Minister of State is reading his notes. When he gets the opportunity to address us, I would like him to explain to us how the companies justify the prices being so high. We understand there are costs to insurance, including the cost of payouts and the costs of administration, but how can the enormous profits these companies are making be justified?

Sentiment score: 0.49

They are making huge profits. What is the Minister of State doing about it?

Sentiment score: 0.32

Has the Government capped these profits?

Sentiment score: 0.44

I am asking a question. The Minister of State is telling me we are wrong. I am asking him a simple question. Has the Government capped these profits? What has it done to tackle them? It is not just insurance.

Sentiment score: -0.01

The Government has done the same with electricity and gas. It lets private sector companies come in and do whatever they want in this country. Not only that, but Europe has allowed the same thing. We have the highest prices for food, insurance, electricity and everything else. Fine Gael has been in government for 14 years and Fianna Fáil has been in government for ten. It was they who allowed this continue. What have they done to stop it? We are trying to bring forward solutions. I can fight with the Minister of State all day long. I will stand up here for 24 hours and fight with him. There is no better man to do it. We are coming in here to try to fix problems because there are people watching this tonight who are asking what we are doing. We are the Dáil. We are the Teachtaí Dála. We are supposed to bring forward solutions for ordinary families. I spoke to a person over the weekend who told me she is terrified of Christmas. How is she going to put that together for three children - two girls and a boy? I was at the boy's match the other day. She is worried about Christmas. People were worried when the kids went back to school, they are worried about Christmas and they are worried about birthdays. At the same time, they are worried about how they are going to pay their car insurance. A great number of people in the areas I represent have dropped house insurance because they cannot afford it. I will leave the Minister of State with this. I know a girl who applied for Cork City Council housing. She was being interviewed to get a house. Does the Minister of State know why she was refused a house? It was because she drove a car without tax or insurance. She did not have the money for them. Not alone could she not pay for them, but she got no house as a result. That is how desperate people are.

Sentiment score: -0.10