Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD has described the Government’s announcement that no revenue will be going into the Rainy Day Fund as a “complete reversal in policy”, and welcomed their decision to adopt Sinn Féin’s position.
Deputy Doherty said that today’s announcement that €450 million in overruns will be again funded by unexpected tax windfalls is further sign of a Government that is underfunding public services and has no control of the public finances.
The Donegal TD said:
“Today the Minister for Finance has announced that his party and Fianna Fáil’s flagship policy of a Rainy Day Fund has finished before it even started. No money will be going into the Fund from this year’s revenue.
“Sinn Féin have repeatedly called the Rainy Day Fund out as a badly designed policy. The legislation that underpinned the fund allowed it to be used only in exceptional circumstances and to bail out the banks.
“I welcome the Minister’s decision today to adopt the Sinn Féin position on the fund.
“Today’s news that the Minister will be funding €450 million worth of supplementary estimates through corporation tax revenue is yet more evidence that this Government has no control of the public finances.
“Year after year the Government underprovide for our public services, and then announces overruns at each year’s end.
“This makes a mockery of the budgetary process and is a dangerous way to manage our public finances.
“We have seen no improvement in our public services. At the same time their funding is becoming increasingly reliant on unsustainable corporation tax revenue rather than a sustainable tax base.
“At this stage it is difficult to believe any forecasts that come from this Government.
“Brexit will influence this Budget but it shouldn’t define it. Our public finances can be protected while delivering real results for the challenges our people face. But only if the right choices are made.
“Next week’s budget is set to be another failure by Fine Gael to and Fianna Fáil to give workers and families a break.”
Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD has again called on the Central Bank and Competition & Consumer Protection Commission to open investigations into the use of dual pricing by the insurance industry. This comes after Aviva admitted in yesterday’s Finance Committee that they use dual pricing to hike the renewal premiums of a third of their customers above the average price.
Speaking today after the publication of a report by the Financial Conduct Authority in Britain into the use of dual pricing, Deputy Doherty called for the practice to be investigated and said that Sinn Féin will act to protect consumers and take on the industry.
The Donegal TD said:
“Today the Financial Conduct Authority published its interim report on the issue of unfair pricing in the British insurance market. The findings are clear.
“The report has found that the insurance market is not working for consumers, with companies using dual pricing to artificially hike premiums for renewing customers. The report estimates that if these customers had paid the genuine price that reflected their risk, they would have said a total of £1.2 billion.
“The report also found that consumers do not know that this is happening, and that disproportionately affects vulnerable groups who are from low-income households or are less likely to understand how renewal affects their premiums.
“We know that this practice is happening in Ireland. Many of the insurance companies that operate here do so in Britain also. Only yesterday at the Finance Committee, Aviva, who also operate in Britain, admitted to using dual pricing to hike premiums on loyal and unsuspecting customers.
“Price discrimination is wrong, anti-consumer, and targets vulnerable groups.
“Last week the Finance Committee accepted my request to begin an investigation into this issue. I have called on the Central Bank to begin an investigation into the practice and will be meeting the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to make a similar case.
“Sinn Féin are acting to protect consumers and put an end to unfair pricing by the insurance industry.
"In the coming months I will be moving my Consumer Insurance Contracts Bill to final stage in the Dáil, and Sinn Féin will be bringing forward recommendations to end the unfair practice of dual pricing by the industry.”
Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD has again called on the Central Bank and Competition & Consumer Protection Commission to open investigations into the use of dual pricing by the insurance industry. This comes after Aviva admitted in yesterday’s Finance Committee that they use dual pricing to hike the renewal premiums of a third of their customers above the average price.
Speaking today after the publication of a report by the Financial Conduct Authority in Britain into the use of dual pricing, Deputy Doherty called for the practice to be investigated and said that Sinn Féin will act to protect consumers and take on the industry.
The Donegal TD said:
“Today the Financial Conduct Authority published its interim report on the issue of unfair pricing in the British insurance market. The findings are clear.
“The report has found that the insurance market is not working for consumers, with companies using dual pricing to artificially hike premiums for renewing customers. The report estimates that if these customers had paid the genuine price that reflected their risk, they would have said a total of £1.2 billion.
“The report also found that consumers do not know that this is happening, and that disproportionately affects vulnerable groups who are from low-income households or are less likely to understand how renewal affects their premiums.
“We know that this practice is happening in Ireland. Many of the insurance companies that operate here do so in Britain also. Only yesterday at the Finance Committee, Aviva, who also operate in Britain, admitted to using dual pricing to hike premiums on loyal and unsuspecting customers.
“Price discrimination is wrong, anti-consumer, and targets vulnerable groups.
“Last week the Finance Committee accepted my request to begin an investigation into this issue. I have called on the Central Bank to begin an investigation into the practice and will be meeting the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to make a similar case.
“Sinn Féin are acting to protect consumers and put an end to unfair pricing by the insurance industry.
"In the coming months I will be moving my Consumer Insurance Contracts Bill to final stage in the Dáil, and Sinn Féin will be bringing forward recommendations to end the unfair practice of dual pricing by the industry.”
Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD has called again for an immediate investigation by the Central Bank into the practice of dual pricing by the insurance industry. This comes after Aviva Ireland admitted in the Finance Committee that they used dual pricing to increase the premiums of existing customers on renewal.
Speaking at the Finance Committee, Deputy Doherty said this practice was designed to identify customers who are likely to renew and then punish their loyalty with higher premiums.
The Donegal TD said:
“Today at the Finance Committee Aviva admitted it employs dual pricing, or price discrimination, to target one third of loyal customers with higher premiums at renewal.
“This is the first time an insurance company in Ireland has admitted to using dual pricing, a practice which is known to harm vulnerable consumers.
“Insurance companies are using data analytics and complex algorithms to target customers who are viewed as being less ‘price-sensitive’ or more likely to renew, and then hiking their premiums on renewal.
“This practice is known to harm vulnerable customers, particularly those who are older or from lower-income households.
“Today at Committee, representatives from AIG admitted that dual pricing was about identifying customers who were more likely to renew their policies and then punishing them with higher premiums.
“This is a startling admission that the industry is employing pricing methods that target vulnerable consumers without them knowing it is even taking place.
“That is why I have asked the Finance Committee to begin an investigation into this issue.
“Today Aviva admitted to using price discrimination, but I have evidence that is a practice being carried out by several insurance companies in the State.
“I will be meeting with the Consumer and Competition Commission in the coming weeks to make the case for a market investigation into this aggressive pricing strategy that targets loyal and vulnerable customers.”
Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD has today published his party’s Alternative Budget 2020 saying its time to end the rip-off and give families and workers a break.
Sinn Féin’s alternative budget proposals include a provision for two free GP visits for every person without a medical card, a rent freeze and a relief worth one month’s rent, free travel on public transport for five to eighteen-year-olds and a reduction in the cost of childcare by an average of €100 a month per child.
Speaking today Teachta Doherty said;
“The upcoming budget needs to do two things: end the rip off and give workers and families a break and secure Ireland’s future if there is a crash out Brexit.
“There is something seriously wrong when the vast majority of people have less money in their pockets now than they did when Fine Gael, supported by Fianna Fáil, came into power three years ago.
“The reasons for this are obvious – Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are making bad, short term decisions that are costing the tax payer billions and they are failing to intervene to deal with out of control costs in childcare, rents and essential household bills like insurance and mortgage interest payments.
“The consequence is that insurance companies, banks and landlords are making billions while workers and families are being ripped off.
“Sinn Féin’s Alternative Budget offers clear, realisable solutions to the rip-off living costs faced by countless families - sky-high insurance premiums, extortionate rents, and eye-watering childcare costs. Together, these ensure that Ireland’s cost of living is among the most unaffordable in the developed world.
“The budget cannot be just about survival, it must be about ensuring people can have a decent life and enjoy their time with family and friends.
“Sinn Féin’s alternative budget will give workers and families a break. We will:
· Help renters by introducing an emergency freeze on rents and bringing in rent relief which would save them the equivalent of one month’s rent each year.
· Help families by reducing the cost of childcare by an average of €100 a month per child.
· Provide two free GP visits for every person without a medical card – so nobody delays going to the doctor because they are worried about the cost.
· Ensure there is No carbon tax increase in Budget 2020.
· End the insurance rip-off - first we’re going after the government take and then we are coming after the industry.
· Invest an additional €300 million to give people with disabilities and their families a break.
· Introduce free travel for 5 to 18-year-olds on public transport.”
ENDS
