Deputy Pearse Doherty has called on the Minister for Finance to urgently take steps to tackle the rising cost of insurance premiums for Livestock Marts.
Speaking during a live Dáil Debate, Deputy Doherty called on the Government to include mart insurance as part of Competition and Consumer Protection Commission investigations into insurance products.
It follows an increase in the number of mart operators throughout Donegal reporting that the cost of insurance was becoming unsustainable.
Deputy Doherty said “Early this morning it was confirmed that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has carried out a serious of raids on insurers, brokers and their representative body- Insurance Ireland.
“The raids are part of an ongoing investigation suspicion of price signaling or price fixing, within insurance in Ireland.
“This suspicion is most evident in motor insurance prices which most of us have to put up with. It is far from limited to car insurance though.
“Minister, I’m sure you’re very well aware that Donegal has a very long and proud farming and agricultural heritage.
“The diversity of land use within the sector reflects the physical diversity of our landscape. From largely dairy farming in the north; crop growing to the east and throughout the Finn Valley; cattle rearing in the south; and grazing lands to the West, few counties boast such a mix and range of farm types.”
The West Donegal TD said that as a rural county, this tradition is not only widely known, but is also widely celebrated.
He said that the industry remains, even to this day, at the heart of the local economy in many of our smallest villages and towns.
“And at the centre of this industry is the local farmer’s mart. Many of our biggest towns, such as Letterkenny, the Twin Towns, Raphoe, Milford, Donegal Town, Ballyshannon and others, owe much of their success down through the years to the influence of the local Livestock Co-op or Mart.
“In fact, many of them remain open for business today. They are local trading hubs, institutions in their own right, where farmers and traders come to do business; to socialize and, in most instances, to continue a long and lasting family farming tradition.
“Despite this Minister, all is not well at the local Livestock Mart. It is a business which today finds itself coming under increasing financial pressures as a direct result of what is fast becoming the cross-sectoral problem of insurance costs.
“The same core issues that have caused the rip off for drivers is in my view driving these increases.
“In recent weeks, I have been contacted by representatives from the sector, who have stated in no uncertain terms Minister, that the crippling costs associated with rising Mart insurance premiums over recent years is forcing mart operators to seriously consider their own futures, as well as the future survival of the wider institution itself.
“Marts are reporting coming under heightened demands from their insurers to introduce costly structural adaptations and changes to existing practice which it’s claimed will help keep the cost of cover down.
“Will the Minister commit to the current stage of the Insurance Review examining the plight of marts specifically? Will the CCPC investigation look at not only motor insurance but wider issues?
“In recent weeks, I have been contacted by representatives from the sector, who have stated in no uncertain terms Minister, that the crippling costs associated with rising Mart insurance premiums over recent years is forcing mart operators to seriously consider their own futures, as well as the future survival of the wider institution itself.
“Marts are reporting coming under heightened demands from their insurers to introduce costly structural adaptations and changes to existing practice which it’s claimed will help keep the cost of cover down.
“In one local mart for example, despite having spent over €12,000 to introduce such changes, operators saw their premiums rise from €8,000 in 2015 to a whopping €15,000 for the period 2017/18.
“Owners of another Mart have advised that the cost of their renewal is now a staggering €30,000, that this cost is among their biggest overheads for the year, and that the figure is now unsustainable, something which is particularly the case for smaller marts and co-ops which only operate a limited number of days each week.
“Minister, Mart owners simply cannot afford to pay such inordinate insurance premiums and many fear that the issue, if not remedied shortly, will result in their likely demise and closure.
“Minister, my question to you is this. What will you now do to ensure that this rip-off is brought to a quick and decisive end? Because, if the appropriate intervention is not taken and taken soon, then what we’ll see is a domino effect: the successive closure of local Marts in rural communities the length and breadth of this state.
“Such an outcome, I’m sure the Minister will agree, is something which is simply unthinkable in terms of its affects on Rural Ireland.”
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