Govt 'on a different planet', says restaurateur whose insurance has soared €115k in 10 years
A financial bailout for cafes and restaurants facing possible closure because of soaring insurance premiums has been ruled out by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe.
The hospitality sector is crying out for help after a number of insurers left the market and with cover costs set to rise. The call comes after €7m was given this week to creches in crisis over insurance.
But Mr Donohoe, speaking to RTE, ruled out extending any state aid to food outlets or the private sector.
Mr Donohoe referenced the one-off payment to childcare providers of €1,500 and said there was no equivalent payment available to those who work in the hospitality sector.
He said there is a fundamental difference between the provision of childcare and other parts of the economy in which the Government cannot intervene.The Judicial Council Bill will make a difference in personal injury awards which should have an impact on the insurance industry, he said.
Earlier on Newstalk Breakfast the Minister said the Government was “tremendously active” with regard to insurance. But it takes time to make changes like this, he added.“It is very complex. A balance needs to be struck.”
The decision came as a Galway businessman told of how his insurance premium increased from €10,000 to €125,000 over 10 years.
Eoin McCambridge, of McCambridge’s restaurant and food hall, said the Government “is on a different planet” while the insurance industry and legal profession are “fleecing” businesses, community groups and sporting organisations.
“Ten years ago our insurance premium would have been €10,000 it's now over €125,000 in 2019. Our premium is due for renewal at the end of January.
"We're very concerned as there's no sign of a reduction in the pipeline,” he told RTÉ.
Mr McCambridge, who is also a director of the Alliance for Insurance Reform, said he has been growing more and more concerned about the increase in insurance.
“I've gotten frustrated at the pace of reform and now I'm just angry at what I see going on over the last few weeks.
We have a Taoiseach, we have Ministers Flanagan, Donohoe and D'Arcy - I don't think they live in the real world to be honest, they don't seem to realise it's a crisis now. I can't keep paying these kinds of premiums.
“You've seen it with the creches and now cafés.”
Mr McCambridge cited the example of the Community Circus in Galway. Its insurance premium is now €23,500. It was €6,000 a couple of years ago.
“We haven't had a claim in two years, but we had three or four claims together - they were claims that I would say were very large payouts for very small, fully recoverable injuries and very high legal fees, for those claims.
"I think that's borne out by the report from the Central Bank. When you have half a billion in legal fees in three years, premiums going up 42%, with a 2.5% reduction in claims."
“We're being fleeced by an insurance industry and the legal industry. It's not sustainable for charities or sports organisation, for community organisations."
