Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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1202. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will address the growing problem of uninsured drivers on roads; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9545/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The number of uninsured drivers would appear to be rising, based on estimates submitted by the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland (MIBI), but the number of vehicles on our roads has also risen as the economy improves and the size of the fleet increases. The establishment of an Insured and Uninsured database by Insurance Ireland and MIBI, as provided for in the Road Traffic Act 2016 which was signed into law in December 2016, will ensure the provision of reliable data to an Garda Síochána to enable them to robustly enforce uninsured drivers and take them off our roads.  The project to design and implement this database is well underway; officials from my Department, an Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice, together with the MIBI and Insurance Ireland, are overseeing the design and implementation of the database, and a test version is expected to be ready by mid 2017, with the project due for completion in 2018.  The MIBI will have ownership of and responsibility for the database, which will be made available to this Department and an Garda Síochána. The Cost of Insurance Working Group, in which this Department plays an active role, is also overseeing other measures which should drive down the cost of motor insurance significantly, thus making insurance more affordable for drivers and reducing the risk of them deciding to drive uninsured for financial reasons.  The report of the working group was submitted to Government and was published in mid January.  The Working Group has commenced work on the implementation of the report's recommendations.