Insurance companies were condemned yesterday by a judge at Kilkenny District, who said the State should look after insurance costs and claims.
District Court Judge William Harnett said it was totally wrong for insurance companies to "cherry pick" who they will and will not insure. "A government within the EU will have to eventually say to hell with the lot of them and levy insurance costs themselves," he told Kilkenny district Court.
He added that it was totally unfair that bona fide businessmen who were trying to set up a business should be discriminated against by insurance companies who simply did not want to insure them. He made the remarks as he adjourned the first case of its kind in the country, where a county council has refused to grant a waste permit licence because the applicant did not have insurance.
Mr Patrick Merlehan, owner of Unlimited Waste Ltd, Moone, Co Kildare, told the court that he could not meet one the conditions attached to his application by Kilkenny County Council, whereby he must have insurance for operating the permit in the south east.
He said he had contacted 46 insurance companies and brokers given to him by the court on September 24th last but the majority of them had refused to insure him as he was new to the business.
Mr Merlehan applied for a waste permit licence in November last year under the new Waste Management Collection Permit Regulations 2001. His application was returned to him with a number of conditions in July.
He told the court that waste operators had seen their annual insurance premiums rise by between 100 and 500 per cent this year.
Mr Merlehan, who has been in business for three years and deals with collecting commercial waste from companies such as health boards, the Irish Sugar Company and the ESB, is trying to operate under his farm insurance.
Local authorities are now charged with dealing with this new Waste Act.
The court heard that it is not written in law that waste permit applicants must provide insurance.
Judge Harnett adjourned the case to January 28th 2003 to allow Mr Merlehan further opportunity to seek insurance cover.