Businesses are being driven to closure, jobs are being lost, and community festivals are being blocked, by the spiralling cost of public liability insurance, the Dáil has been warned.

Fianna Fáil deputy leader, Dara Calleary, cited the case of a woman running a childcare facility in Navan. He said her public liability insurance cost €2,000 in 2012 – but had risen to €16,000 last year, without a claim, while now she cannot get an insurance quote, putting 10 jobs at risk.

Mr Calleary said businesses across the country could not take the strain and many were closing with a lot of job losses.  He said a total of 75 community festivals across the country had to abandon plans due to extremely high insurance costs.

“For once can you stand up for small business against the might of the insurance industry?” the Mayo Fianna Fáil TD asked.

Mr Calleary said urgent action had to be taken on the scale of insurance awards which were averaging four times the level in the UK.  He said it was time a so-called “book of quantum” – or guideline to injury awards for injury claims – was published.

“It’s costing jobs and closing businesses down,” the Fianna Fáil deputy leader added.

Replying for the Government, Tánaiste Simon Coveney said he was well aware of all difficulties facing business, including rising public liability insurance costs.  But he rejected claims that the Government was “doing nothing.”

Mr Coveney said motor insurance premiums had been cut by 22pc in recent times and work was ongoing on monitoring and tackling other insurance costs. He said Finance Minister, Paschal Donohoe, was chairing a working group on the issue, which was implementing various recommendations from an ongoing series of reports, and this work would continue.

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