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THE MINISTER OF State with responsibility for bringing down the cost of insurance travelled to the UK this week to try to convince insurers to operate to the Irish market, in the wake of the departure of one company which has caused grave concerns for the leisure industry.
Minister Michael D’Arcy was due to meet with a number of UK insurers and underwriters in London this week.
The purpose of these meetings was to “advise them of the most recent legislative changes and promote Ireland as a place to continue to write business,” Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe told the Dáil in response to a parliamentary question.
Donohoe added: “I think it is an important exercise as hopefully it will encourage some insurers to rethink their position about the Irish market.”
‘Compo culture’
The insurance industry has repeatedly said that the high level of personal injury awards and the number of fraudulent cases has driven up the cost of premiums in Ireland.
The government set up the Cost of Insurance Working Group in July 2016 to try to develop proposals that would bring down the price for consumers.
A number of developments that have been made include the establishment of a personal injuries commission to help to benchmark awards. It found that the payout for soft tissue injuries in Ireland is over four times more than the payouts in England and Wales.
And, although the cost of insurance is going down according to CSO stats, concerns have been raised that the industry could be knowingly misrepresenting the full picture in these statistics.
In a meeting in June, Minister D’Arcy asked representatives from Insurance Ireland for a guarantee that premiums would be lowered to reflect the action being taken to reduce the level of awards for personal injury claims.
Insurance Ireland replied it would be “difficult to persuade insurers to expand their risk appetite”.
A recent investigation by Noteworthy found that insurers’ spending on liability and motor claims has barely changed in a decade despite suggestions that Ireland’s rampant ‘compensation culture’ has been behind the country’s recent insurance crisis.
The leisure industry is one sector hit hard recently, after provider Leisure Insure announced that it was withdrawing from the Irish market.
The decision caused shock in the leisure sector, which has struggled in recent years to afford insurance – especially in an Irish insurance industry that has typically been unenthusiastic about offering insurance to such companies.
The government said that its hands were tied with limited options to offer relief to such companies affected.
One leisure centre and swimming pool in Kildare recently said it was shutting down after failing to secure cover, with the only potential quote more than four times what it had been paying before that.
Spin Activity Centre said there had not been a claim against it in the three years since it had opened.
Failure to secure insurance also hit the Dublin Oktoberfest festival which was cancelled this year with organisers citing high insurance cost.
Steps forward
Another action the government has taken has been the enactment of the Judicial Council Bill 2019. This provides for the establishment of a Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee.
While this hasn’t been put in place yet, Minister Donohoe said it should be before the end of the year.
Commenting on the withdrawal of Leisure Insure from the Irish market, Donohoe said that Minister D’Arcy had met with the company and was told “certain parts of the company’s leisure book were not profitable over the last number of years”.
“I acknowledge that the level of awards and the inconsistency in such awards is undoubtedly a factor in many insurers’ decisions not to continue in the Irish market,” Donohoe said.
He said that, in light of this, the “single most essential challenge” was to bring the level of personal injury damages down.
Commenting on D’Arcy’s trip to speak to insurers in London, Donohoe said he hoped Irish-based companies would also be mindful of recent changes.
I believe that Irish based insurers should also reflect on these reforms and in that context Minister of State D’Arcy has been engaging with them in order to seek a commitment that they will reduce premiums and widen their risk appetite to reflect savings made or potential savings, in particular if there is a recalibration of award levels downwards.
Donohoe concluded that he was confident that over time the pressure on businesses when it comes to the cost of insurance “should recede”.
TheJournal.ie has contacted the Department of Finance for comment on this week’s talks.
With reporting from Peter Bodkin
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Typing “amen” on Facebook posts is now a legit way of becoming a saint
One share = Sainthood
@scientia: The Evangelists were sent out as lambs amongst wolves, their miraculous powers gained their cause a hearing, but did not protect them from martyrdom. How then, in spite of the obstacles to their success, did they succeeded? How did they gain lodgement in the world, which they hold down to this day, and what enabled them to spread principles distasteful to the majority? What is that hidden attribute of the Truth, how does it act, prevailing over the many and multiform errors by which it is simultaneously and incessantly attacked ? We might refer its success to the will and blessing of Him who revealed it.
But it is also useful to inquire into the human means by which His Providence acts in the world.
@Tom Newnewman: WTF?????
@EvieXVI: Martyrdom has been part of the history of Catholicism and still is in the Middle East though not all the saints were martyred. That’s a quote from J..H. Newman’s Oxford University sermons. In it he asks and answered why Catholicism keeps growing in spite of persecution.
@Tom Newnewman: Right that’s grand, except Catholicism isn’t growing, it’s shrinking.
So…
@Tom Newnewman: whats a load of rubbish,go feed the poor if ya wanna stand up and be counted as a follower,devote your life give up all your belongings
@Andrew Corrigan: Been there, done that. Your turn now.
Camera phones forced their hands really.
@Paul Fahey: Catholics got used to being mocked from the start so it is a waste of your time . Miracles did not save them from martyrdom. “Behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves,” was the warning given them of their position in the world, on becoming Evangelists in its behalf. Their miraculous powers gained their cause a hearing, but did not protect themselves. St. Paul records the fulfilment of our Lord’s prophecy, as it contrasts the Apostles and mankind at large, when he declares, “Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat; we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.” [1 Cor. iv.]
@Tom Newnewman: no, not a waste of my time, but it is no coincidence that miracles and apparitions have dried up with the onset of modern technology, odd that.
@Tom Newnewman: whatever happened to lot’s wife? She was murdered for looking the wrong way, while lot got his kids pregnant, got them killed and got rewarded with a happy life. Can I pray to him?
@Tom Newnewman: You are speaking a different language to the conformists here although they consider themselves to be free. St Francis knew that anything valued by the wider world doesn’t have any value compared to an inspirational life in all its forms and in imitation of the creative/productive life of Christ.
http://www.swordofthespirit.net/bulwark/july2011p13.htm
People generally come to understand the parable as they meet challenges and vagaries of life and don’t get sour on that account
@Gulliver Foyle: Old Testement. You need to wait for an article on Judaism to have a go at with that.
@Tom Newnewman: dis the last catholic catechism not endorse and confirm the Old Testament as an indespensible part of sacred scripture?
@Tom Newnewman: The Old Testament is the Word of God, are you denying Him? Did the cock just crow a third time?
@Paul Fahey: Running out of ‘Saints’, anything will do.!!!
It’s almost like they are making it up as they are going along….
@Hughiealonso: Didn’t notice you mocking Muslims last time their was an article about ISIS or Islam .
@Tom Newnewman: How about this – Islam is silly and nonsensical, Christianity is silly and nonsensical.
Happy?
@Malachi: all hail Thor, may lightening strike the non believers.
@Tom Newnewman: Christianity is just so easy to mock. It’s 2017. Cop the **** on.
It’s official: The church no longer have to FAKE a miracle to canonised a saint.
@James Joseph Superior Power: but you’d have to pay
big money instead
@ianglen:
Pay enough and you will be made a saint twice even before you kick the bucket.
@James Joseph Superior Power: Thank you for the offer, but I have better uses for my money :p
@James Joseph Superior Power: Just curious. How does that comment make you feel better ?
@Tom Newnewman: come on Tommy (haven’t seen you using that name for a while BTW – you get bored with the moody b&w avatars?), even you have to admit it starts looking a bit silly when they keep changing the rules. Does kinda make it look like they’re just making it up, as someone already mentioned…
@James Joseph Superior Power: Didn’t notice you mocking Muslims last time their was an article about ISIS or Islam .
@Tom Newnewman:
Why would you think that stating a fact is mocking somebody or is done just to make me feel better?
@James Joseph Superior: That’s a bit unfair. Miracles occur in the modern world too. St Pope John Paul miraculously made loads of child abusers and rapists disappear.
@Tom Newnewman:
What have Muslim’s or ISIS got to do with this article?
Why would I mock Muslims on an article about ISIS? Just because ISIS claim to be Muslim doesn’t mean that they are. A lot of people claim to be Christian who aren’t also you know?
@Pseud O’Nym: Living a saintly life and then being murdered and quiet a high requirement.
@DaisyChainsaw:
I can’t despite that one.
@Tom Newnewman: There should be a fair few saints buried in a septic tank in Tuam then.
@DaisyChainsaw: Thank you for saying “buried ” These babies were laid to rest after their short lives in a confined space provided by the local Council and a structure alongside the buildings was used to inter what may easily be describes as saints of infant innocence. The rush to attack the Institution that was tasked to look after these homeless mothers should not interfere with our regard for the innocent babies and overworked voluntary care workers.
@DaisyChainsaw: Many others with less love than you have said “thrown into” rather than buried in the structure that was in the same confined area as the, required by law, septic tank. Four of my siblings died as infants in the care of fully equipped Dublin hospitals.
Next thing ya know they’ll be letting lads that eat meat on fridays into heaven
@Fergal Dmouse: and wear mixed fabrics.
Get in
Delighted with this news, many people who are worthy of sainthood will hopefully get rewarded.
@Free comment ratings:
Hardly get rewarded if they have to first.
@James Joseph Superior Power:
die first
@James Joseph Superior Power: Reward in their eternal rest.
@Free comment ratings:
We will all have eternal rest once we die.
Saint Leo of the polka dot socks.
@Eddie Byrne: Didn’t notice you mocking Muslims last time their was an article about ISIS or Islam in the TheJournal.
You know Tommy boy, that if you were a Muslim you’d be either the Taliban or ISIS.
@Ron North: And how are you so sure I am not a Muslim defending Catholics.
@Tom Newnewman: A Muslim complaining that Muslims are not being mocked enough, now that’s a refreshing change.
But I’ve been working on my magic act for years!
Tough to compete with ULC offering sainthood online for $19.99.
@Ben McArthur: only $10 to become a minister in the church of the FSM. According to the voices in my head (a valid source) I announce you as St. Ben, and every other saint is now a heretic. Everyone is welcome to become a minister, and no-one is ever refused for their beliefs – beat that catholics!
@Gulliver Foyle: I thought you had to build a pirate ship to become a saint in the church of FSM.
They’ll be letting every Tom, Dick and Harry into the Sainthood soon just to keep the numbers up
@Tweety McTweeter: Many Catholics have been murdered and Churches in Middle East but they go unreported in the MSM.
@Tom Newnewman: ……..and their Churches burnt ……
@Tom Newnewman: and what? Are we supposed to stop mocking religious ideology because of their persecution?
Plenty of muslims are being massacred and I am still perfectly happy to criticise Islam, why would it be any different for your flavour of religious belief?
@Tom Newnewman: Many catholics were raped, beaten, starved and enslaved in this country by the RCC and the church hates that “MSM” reports it.
Ooooohhhh Saint Bertie, patron saint of teflon
What’s going on with the comment section here? Invasion of the juveniles?
You guys migrate over from WeeWorld to participate in the discussion tonight?
@Mark DeFriest: Whilst they may be juvenile of mind believing in miracles, I can assure you the comments here defending the latest voodoo from Papa Francis are most certainly being made by grown adult men.
@Atheos Euripides:
I have encountered the atheist mind before.
(unfortunately)
It’s a lowering of standards,I worked damn hard performing miracles ,the Miracle of the Bathroom tiling has never been remarked on by anyone ,and only God knows the miraculous strain I put on my sacred knees,
@Brian O Reilly: Blessed are the tilers , and their grout shall be spread across the land .
Brings to mind the lyrics of a C&W song, the title escapes me, “everybody wants to get to heaven but nobody wants to die”.
Speaking of music: John Coltrane performed the miracle of music and became a saint in the African Orthodox Church. He performed many of these, for instance, by himself; A Love Supreme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm2gHIId_7Y & with Thelonious Monk at Carnegie Hall; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyqdMT-VVfU _O_
This country once was the land of Poets who understood spiritual language but is now filled with Royal Society bobbleheads . The great Irish writers loved William Blake and with good reason -
“Jesus could not do miracles where unbelief hinderd hence we must conclude that the man who holds miracles to be ceased puts it out of his own power to ever witness one The manner of a miracle being performd is in modern times considerd as an
arbitrary command of the agent upon the patient but this is an impossibility not a miracle neither did Jesus ever do such a miracle. Is it a greater miracle to feed five thousand men with five loaves than to overthrow all the armies of Europe with a small pamphlet. look over the events of your own life & if you do not find that you have both done such miracles & lived by such you do not see as I do True I cannot do a miracle thro experiment & to domineer over & prove to others my superior power as neither
could Christ But I can & do work such as both astonish & comfort me & mine” William Blake
https://books.google.ie/books?id=bmzP1wm7fzEC&pg=PA87&lpg#v=onepage&q&f=false
@Gerald Kelleher: What about this quote, you seem to love quoting.
◄ Genesis 38:8 ►
Then The lord said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give offspring to his brother”.
@Gary: “What about this quote, you seem to love quoting.”
Well that seems a suicidal thing for you to do but I am sure you can conjure up other biblical quotes that I never posted.Such is fanaticism
@Gerald Kelleher: And the best of them was bishop William Bedell, the Protestant Bishop of Kilmore who translated the bible into Irish so it could be read by everyone and not just the few Latin speakers. The only sainthood he got was a dark hole in Clough Oughter castle prison and died in 1642.
I think their getting mixed up, someone that gives their life for another is a “Hero” & not a “Saint”
The Twelfth of July doesn’t even start till midnight but you could think it was today by the immature comments so far.
@Tom Newnewman:
Look on the positive side Tom, at least it keeps em off the streets.
@Mark DeFriest: ah, fweeeeinds!
Jose Mourinho will be delighted !
OMG , is that not dumbing down sainthood. Man if I’d have known it was going to change I would have stayed catholic. Man am I pi$$ed off with this and how must all the saints “looking down on us” feel now. Bet their pi$$ed off too. You’d better watch out Rome could be a nasty wrath coming your way soon.
Damn it , what am I going to do with all this wine now .
Give it to me. I’ll miraculously turn it into urine!
@DaisyChainsaw: All hail saint Daisy.
@Ron North: Bless you. I’ll send you my holy toenail clippings as a relic to bring around to churches.
The fact that humans decide who becomes a saint is laughable. Surely the great man himself should make an appearance and anounce it himself. Oh wait
Sainthood has become a lottery, so where can we buy tickets……
Just use the brown envelope provided, a 100,000 would do?
I couldn’t imagine Enda or Bertie ever getting to become a saint for the so called miricles they performed.
Arlene Foster performed miracles like timber into ash and then turn it back into billions of pounds. Amazing but then Protestant churches don’t do sainthood.
At this rate by the year say 2070 Batman & Wonder Woman will be the next Adam & Eve!
The last time Iay down for a woman, she beat it out of me… that’s beatification right?
The pope probably suspects that miracles are a pile of nonsense. The Vatican is very careful to tell nothing about how and why an event is a miracle which is a sign that there is something to hide. They were caught out by the media about the fake Monica Besra miracle in relation to Mother Teresa. The Medjugorje scam shows what happens when people put what they want to believe before the truth. http://www.miraclesceptic.com
It use to take a few brown envelopes before this?
no need for a miracle to become a saint no change then!!
You don’t have to perform miracles? NO SAINT has ever performed a miracle. Seriously a shit ton of David Blaines the lot of them!
Just make it up as Ye go along lads fair play to Ye
The headline an first two paragraphs are incorrect, and contradicted by the rest of the article. I presume that’s the seamline between the journal’s bit and AFP’s bit.
1. Saints don’t perform miracles – that’s not the gig.
2. The only way you can make sense of the ‘no need for a miracle’ element is if you stretch the meaning of ‘saint’ to include the beatified. That might arguably be OK. But that headline would have been news in 1983, it’s quite old news by now.
3. Beatification is not a ‘first’ step towards sainthood.
Has anyone noticed how they sort of tried to call Pope Benedict’s brother a pedo but all that vanished when Pope Benedict stood aside??? Did they do a dirty on Pope Benedict and got Frances elected???
See you in work pope this is how we do it
have your say