Mr Martin said in the Dail this morning that a series of raids on insurance companies by the European Competition Directorate yesterday would be welcomed by most people who would say: "at long last somebody is doing something to stop the great rip off by the motor insurance industry and Irish insurance companies".
Michael Martin said consumers had seen increases of 51% from 2014 on.
"These are extraordinary increases and people perceived total inaction and ineffective interventions" he said, adding "it has taken Europe and the European Commission to shine a light on this".
In response the Taoiseach said the issue of rising insurance costs is "a really big one"
He said it was not just happening in the motor sector, but also in home and business insurance and was having a real impact on people's lives.
He said a government task force set up by Minister Eoghan Murphy was being acted on, and "we are already seeing results including insurance costs moderating and in some cases falling".
Responding to this comments, the Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said that people would be "quite taken" with the remark that we are already getting results.
"Most people are very angry when the bill comes in for car insurance... the government hasn't addressed this its been pathetically slow, and it has taken the European Commission to deal with this.
