Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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53. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the problem for road haulage companies whereby no insurance company here will insure a HGV driver under 25 years of age; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that at 25 years of age, drivers must prove they have two years experience; if his attention has been drawn to discrepancies between Ireland and other European countries in relation to motor insurance whereby it is easier for younger HGV drivers to get insurance in other European countries; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that insurance costs for the HGV sector are prohibitive here causing 30% of the Irish fleet to get insurance abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14217/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​The provision of insurance cover and the price at which it is offered is a commercial matter for insurance companies, and is based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept and adequate provisioning to meet those risks. These are considered by insurance companies on a case by case basis and can include claims history, penalty points, and driver experience. Road Safety Authority research indicates that young drivers are over represented in road deaths in Ireland as referenced in the RSA Provisional Reviews of Fatal Collisions for 2016 (16 fatalities or 20% of all driver fatalities), and for other recent years.

The issue of drivers under 25 not being insured and of drivers over 25 requiring two years experience has not been raised by the insurance industry with my Department. However, the Deputy will be aware of the Cost of Insurance Working Group, chaired by Minister of State at the Department of Finance Eoghan Murphy, which produced a report identifying the main causes for the high costs of motor insurance in recent years, it formulated a number of recommendations for addressing these, and has now begun work on implementing these recommendations.  . These are all designed to lower the cost of motor insurance for all motorists.

The issue of Access to cross-border insurance and the cost of insurance for Irish registered haulage vehicles is covered at 5.3 of the Report.  The report also contains a recommendation (No. 5) and two action points (no. 8 and 9.) regarding the removal of cross-border barriers in the motor insurance sector, responsibility for which has been assigned to the Department of Finance.