Business Supports
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Robert Troy (FF), Longford-Westmeath

I thank the Deputy and acknowledge his interest in and advocacy for SMEs. Indeed, as my party's spokesperson, he has been to the fore in raising the issues facing SMEs, not just in his own constituency but across Ireland. His own experience as an SME operator means that he can speak with real authority in terms of the challenges facing SMEs. It is important that we listen to people like him who are operating businesses and who understand the challenges.
One of the key issues that falls under my area of responsibility is ensuring reduced insurance costs for businesses. We did considerable work in the lifetime of the previous Government in terms of the action plan on insurance costs, publishing the personal injury guidelines, bringing down the cost of claims and enhancing the role of the Injuries Resolution Board and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in order to ensure that we create more competition in the insurance industry. Some 57% of SMEs are now paying less than €1,000 in annual insurance premia. A total of 90% of businesses are paying less than €5,000 in annual insurance premia.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-29