Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have not arranged a meeting with the Minister for Finance to specifically discuss the cost of motor insurance. My officials have met Department of Finance officials through a joint group that carried out a review of the future framework for motor insurance compensation in Ireland following the Setanta Insurance liquidation case. The report of the group is available on the Department of Finance's website.

My Department is very active in the cost of motor insurance working group established by the Minister for Finance some months ago. The group includes representatives from relevant Departments, the Central Bank of Ireland, the Injuries Board and the State Claims Agency. I understand its report which will take into account the recent Oireachtas joint committee report on the cost of motor insurance will be presented to the Minister for Finance in the coming weeks and published shortly thereafter.

Full implementation of the Government's road safety strategy for the period 2013 to 2020 should over time, taking account of the current mid-term review, lead to a reduction in the numbers of road traffic collisions, fatalities and injuries. This can make an important contribution to reducing the cost of motor insurance, as road safety has delivered in the relatively recent past.

I recently met representatives of the insurance industry, together with the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, to press the insurance industry to deliver as soon as possible a motor insurance database that would indicate to An Garda Síochána who was insured and who was not. This is very important. The development of such a database in the United Kingdom has in the past, together with police enforcement, led to a significant reduction in the level of uninsured driving there. We anticipate that they will report to us very shortly.

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