Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Aylward, to the House. I thank the Tánaiste in her absence for attending the debate and Senator O'Meara for sharing her time with me. The House debated this issue in March when the Independent Senators tabled a motion calling for an urgent reduction in insurance premiums, particularly for young drivers. The issue has been debated at great length here. Unfortunately, the level of progress at Government level since then, in regard to motor insurance for young people, has not been at a pace that suggests the campaign is working. While I accept the Tánaiste's commitments in this regard, we are not seeing action fast enough.

The Motor Insurance Advisory Board report produced 67 recommendations. At that time we were told full implementation would result in low cost insurance all round. Driving is a necessity in rural Ireland. Unfortunately, we do not have the same access to the DART, rail, taxis and buses as our counterparts in urban areas. Therefore, it is necessary for the young male or female to purchase a car, obtain insurance and drive to their place of work. However, in many respects, insurance companies quote figures which are beyond belief. I was in a house recently where I was shown a quote from an insurance company which was in excess of €3,000. That was an average quote. The driver in this case was able to pay it, but some of his friends had been quoted almost double that amount. That is disgraceful. In other cases the insurance companies do not bother to quote.