Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for the introduction and for the submission they have made, which is interesting and informative for us. Many of the questions have been answered. They are stark and damning statistics, to say the least. It is disturbing and alarming to have 180,000 vehicles without insurance, one in every 12 private vehicles, which is the second-highest rate of uninsured vehicles in the European league of insurance, as well as 2,000 claims per year at an average of more than €70,000.

I do not think anyone out there understands or appreciates the extent of the problem. While insurance is complex, the question the committee has to get to the root of is why we have so many people who do not have insurance. One of the reasons is obviously the cost involved. This is particularly the case for young people who need cars to go to work or college and so on. They are running the risk because the cost of insurance is more than the cost of the car, which is one of the big issues. Lack of enforcement is an issue in that people driving uninsured are not detected, which is where the legislation comes in. We have to ensure that we promote the legislation because automatic number plate recognition is the obvious way to link up the data so that when a car plate number is scanned, the garda on duty can immediately determine whether or not there is insurance. Enforcement is an obvious answer.

Motor vehicle insurance is one aspect of it. We are at the stage now where motorcycle clubs, the equine industry, including those running point-to-point meetings, and voluntary organisations that can no longer get insurance, which means that a lot of those events have to be cancelled. That is an issue that also has to be addressed by the committee.

The other questions I wanted to ask have already been asked, so I will not delay the witnesses by repeating them. I ask Mr. Fitzgerald to outline, particularly for the public watching the meeting, the structure of the MIBI. How many people are employed in the organisation, and how many insurance companies contribute to the fund? How is the actual levy by each insurance company determined and agreed? What are the procedures involved when a claim is made? What is the average timescale for the settlement of claims, and how many of those cases end up in a legal process? We all know that process can take a long time and is very expensive.