A junior minister has said "sickening" compensation culture is destroying businesses in the tourism sector.
Brendan Griffin, TD, said the government needed to work harder to bring premiums down.
"There is a huge problem with compensation culture.
"It is a sickening part of Irish society at the moment. A small number of people are destroying businesses and it has to stop."
He was speaking as a new strategy aimed at boosting jobs and visitor numbers in the tourism industry over the next three years was unveiled
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said the strategy was badly needed in the face of a number of challenges facing Irish tourism.
He also revealed that revenue from international visitors is down around €81m euro this year to €5.7bn but suggested he was confident that could increase to €6.5bn by 2022.
The tourism strategy also aims to get tourist numbers up by around 900,000 in the next three years.
Concerns have also been raised that Ireland is getting a reputation for being too expensive for tourists.
Stephen O'Leary, from the Dalata hotel group - which owns the Maldron and Clayton brands - said competitiveness is hugely important and a massive challenge for the sector heading into the new year.
"If we don't mind ourselves the number will decrease," he warned.
