Acts like Beyoncé, P!nk and Coldplay skip Irish dates on their tours due to Ireland's insurance crisis.

That's according to Alliance for Ireland Reform Director, Peter Boland.

Steep costs for insurance have caused the cancellation of arts and sports events in Ireland in recent years.

Speaking to The Pat Kenny Show, Mr Boland said the cost of insurance is “essentially the icing on the cake when it comes to reasons not to come to Ireland now.”

“It gets to the point where it's no longer commercial Pat,” he said.

“Obviously tours are a big business, and they go where they can make a margin and Ireland has issues in terms of competitiveness.

“By way of sharp contrast, north of the border, there is no such issue and those who cannot afford insurance south of the border tend to pay a very modest amount in Northern Ireland.”

Public liability

Mr Boland said promoters specifically do not wish to pay Ireland’s public liability insurance fees.

“What's really worrying about it is that essentially, Ireland is a summer tourist destination,” he said.

“We have a terrific infrastructure in terms of festivals, artistic and cultural events, sporting events, and a lot of voluntary and community work.

“All of that infrastructure is threatened by the current insurance crisis.

“This is unique to Ireland, and it does not exist as a challenge anywhere else in Europe.

“The fabric of our society is under threat in terms of this crisis.”

Volunteering

Mr Boland said that Irish businesses will “react if they need to.”

“Irish businesses are very resilient, and very responsive, very dynamic,” he said.

“The big concern we have right now is with the voluntary and community sector.

“It takes an enormous amount of effort to get a voluntary organisation up and running.

“Once that initiative is dissipated, it's very hard to get it back again.

“Ireland runs on volunteering and if we continue to undermine volunteering with the cost of insurance, then that is going to have major implications societally over the next number of years.”

Premiums

Mr Boland said while Ireland is “by any metric one of the safest countries in Europe,” that is “not reflected in the cost of premiums.”

“On motor premiums, because of all of the reforms, we've seen premiums come down slightly in 2021 and 2022,” he said.

“We're actually seeing the opposite in liability.

“In 2021, average liability renewal was up by 16%. In 2022, it was up 14%.

“All of the benefits of the reforms that the Government have put in place are flowing to insurers.

“In order to make sure that all of their work avoids amounting to nothing eventually, they must make sure that the incumbent insurers deliver on those reductions.

“Also, to get additional competition into the market – these are absolutely critical elements in finishing off the job.”