Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 5, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following:

“PART 2

REGISTER OF WRITTEN-OFF VEHICLES

Definition - Part 1

3. In this Part “vehicle insurer” has the meaning assigned to it in section 58 of the Road Traffic Act 1961.”.

The issue of what to do about written-off vehicles has been talked about for a very long time. It has been raised repeatedly as a matter that might be included in successive road traffic Bills. In the end it has always been deferred. When I became the Minister for Transport. Tourism and Sport the current Bill had already been passed by the Seanad and it was restored to the Order Paper for the Dáil after the election. I decided that this time around written-off vehicles should not be left as the also-ran issue of road traffic law. I decided to introduce an amendment to the Bill to address, for the first time on a statutory basis, the question of written off vehicles in Ireland. I shall begin by speaking on how things stand currently. Under existing voluntary arrangements some vehicle insurers submit notification details regarding total vehicle right offs to my Department's national vehicle and driver file, NVDF. On receiving these details, records relating to such vehicles are locked down on the NVDF so that no further transactions can be recorded against them. This means there can be no renewal of motor tax or change of ownership for the vehicle. The locked down status of these vehicles can be altered only if the NVDF receives confirmation from the insurance company involved in the original notification that an incorrect vehicle right-off categorisation had been relayed to the NVDF.

There has long been agreement that this approach - being as it is entirely voluntary - is not satisfactory. The current road safety strategy includes a commitment that the Road Safety Authority, RSA, would carry out a consultation on the matter for the good of developing policy to legislate to ensure that unsafe, written-off vehicles are taken out of circulation. The RSA completed this consultation. While the RSA proposals have merit they are also highly complex and would take a great deal of time and cost to implement. They would also require a great deal of additional time and consideration to work out fully. I decided that we could not let the matter wait any longer.

I, therefore, decided to address this matter now in a way which will work and which will have practical benefits. I am not precluding further developments in future, but I am determined that we should lay the groundwork now by taking real action on this question.

I am proposing to place the current voluntary arrangements between the insurance industry and my Department on domestic write-offs on a statutory footing. All insurers will be statutorily required to notify my Department of category A, irreparable and fit for scrap only, and category B, useful for viable spare parts only write-offs, so that these vehicles' records can be locked down on the NDVF and their circulation within the national fleet prevented. It is not necessary to cater for category C and D write-offs as these vehicles are capable of being repaired and returned to use on the public road.

I know many people would like to take this further as I also would. I considered and I am still considering additional measures, for example, to do with imported vehicles. However, this is very complex and if I had gone down this road, it would have led to the inevitable and unacceptable result that yet again a road traffic Bill would have been passed without any measures to address written-off vehicles.

Relevant legislation is already in place in both road traffic and consumer law dealing with written-off vehicles. It is currently an offence to drive a dangerously defective vehicle in a public place under road traffic legislation while under the Consumer Protection Act 2007, car dealers are obliged to give full disclosure of the history of second-hand vehicle to potential buyers. Under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980, a vehicle being sold should be free from any defect that would render it a danger to the public.

I know Deputy Munster wants to address her own amendment on written-off vehicles. I am glad to see that we are both on the same page with respect to this important issue. I believe her amendment has great merit, but it is covered by the amendments we have proposed.