Mr. Niall Doyle:

I will be happy to submit the data for the past ten years.

We are not particularly enthusiastic about the prospect of the European gender directive coming into force in January. Women are better drivers than men and live longer than men, but we will no longer be able to factor that into our risk assessments. We must follow the law and do our best to use other risk-rating factors to ensure we are appropriately applying risk. That is why immediate and accurate access to penalty points data is vital if we are to identify safe and unsafe drivers so that the former can be offered competitive premiums and the risks can be accurately reflected in the prices offered to the latter.

In regard to the NCT, we are under some difficulty in terms of accessing data. We are hopeful that the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport will grant us official access to vehicles' NCT status and information on driver disqualifications, but there is no provision for that in the legislation. We urge that this be done in the next road traffic Bill. We would not be prepared to underwrite a vehicle that has not passed the NCT and there is an implication for the risk assessment of a driver who has a previous disqualification. We must have access to that information if our assessments are to be accurate.

I will conclude by reiterating the message regarding enforcement. It is only by maintaining and enhancing enforcement efforts that we will build on the great national achievement of reducing deaths on the road.