Can new group alter the habit of a lifetime?

Opinion: The coincidence between the announcement of the Tánaiste's new Consumer Strategy Group and the publication of the latest report on insurance prices by IFSRA was no doubt just that - a coincidence.

But if anything highlights the need for consumers to be more price conscious it was the range of prices quoted by insurers for pretty much the same product.

The report showed that among other things, a 36-year-old teacher living in Co Cavan driving a €14,000 Laguna could pay €587 to €898 for comprehensive insurance, depending which company she called. It also showed that while no one insurance company could be said to be the most expensive in the market, the three big players - AXA, Allianz and Hibernian - are the most expensive, or second most expensive in many sectors.

It seems pretty clear that as with most things, we routinely pay too much for motor insurance because we do not shop around and companies punish us as a result.

The Tánaiste now hopes to try to reverse this national trait through the appointment of a strategy group. So what do we know of the people who have been charged with this daring experiment in social engineering?

First, the names. They are: Ms Ann Fitzgerald, the chief executive of the Irish Association of Investment Managers; Ms Orna Ní Chionna, a former management consultant and non-executive director of BUPA, Northern Foods and Bank of Ireland (UK); Mr Simon Nugent, the former chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce of Ireland; Mr John O'Sullivan, the founder and managing director of Aircoach; Mr Colin Hunt, the research director of Goodbody Stockbrokers; Mr Alex Shuster, a law lecturer at Trinity College; Dr Edward Shinnick an economics lecturer at University College Cork; Mr Rosheen Callender, an economist with SIPTU; Mr Dermott Jewell, the chief executive of the Consumers Association of Ireland; Ms Aileen O'Toole, former journalist turned marketing consultant; and finally, Mr Stephen Costello, who is chairman of the general consumer council of Northern Ireland.

It is pretty much your typical quango, with members drawn from the ranks of what passes for an establishment here. As such it is easy enough to pick holes in its make-up.

First off, you might wonder how any organisation with three economists - Mr Hunt is an eminent practitioner of the dismal science - will ever be able to come to a single view about anything.

More seriously you might question the heavy representation from the financial services industry, which is not perceived to be a friend of the Irish consumer.

In her day job, Ms Fitzgerald represents the interests of the Irish investment management industry, the membership of which is made up of the investment arms of the Irish banks, insurance companies and pension funds. Ms Ní Chionna is a director of an insurance company with a very significant Irish business - BUPA - as well as Bank of Ireland's UK operations.

Goodbody Stockbrokers, where Mr Hunt works, is part of AIB Bank and its stockbroking clients include some of the biggest companies in Ireland.

Equally you can question the point of putting Mr Jewell on the board given that his organisation, the Consumer Association, has manifestly failed to encourage an activist consumer lobby.

The counter argument put forward by the Tánaiste's people is that all the members are there in their personal capacities and do not represent any organisations.

In addition, they say they are all consumers and that is what really qualifies them to come up with recommendations for the development of a "national consumer policy strategy".

No doubt the first item on the agenda of the first meeting will be to look up the meaning of "policy strategy" in the encyclopedia of quango jargon.

After that the members will have to worry about such things as how to "promote among product and service providers best practice in the delivery of quality customer service and value for money and an appreciation of the contribution satisfied consumers make to the growth and development of business".

Again, the encyclopedia might be needed but it would appear that the group will have to convince Irish business that ripping your customers off is a bad idea in the long term.

But the body's real challenge is to "provide consumers with the knowledge, information and confidence to be demanding of quality, service and value" and "ensure consumers are well informed of their rights and have effective and speedy means of redress in the event that those rights are denied".

Once again the old encyclopedia might help, but again the body's fundamental task would appear to be to make people give up the habits of a lifetime, start shopping around and not take any nonsense from companies that they think are ripping them off.

To bring about this seismic change in the dynamic of Irish life the group has been given the powers to "advise... and to make recommendations", it can also examine best practice internationally and "initiate studies".

The final shot in the group's locker is the entitlement to produce interim reports.

We can only wish it well.