Ireland ranks second in EU for uninsured vehicles; The Garda will now recognize the new contract

Ireland ranks second in EU for uninsured vehicles; The Garda will now recognize the new contract

The Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) has today started providing motor insurance details to the Gardaí, following the official signing of a data sharing agreement between the two organisations. Details of three million vehicles and five million drivers are pulled from the Irish Motor Insurance Database (IMID) every day as part of efforts to identify vehicles being illegally driven without insurance. As part of the deal, An Garda Síochána will now have comprehensive insurance records with a real-time picture of the insurance details of all private vehicles in the country.

Research published by the MIBI earlier this year showed Ireland had the second highest rate of uninsured driving in the EU in 2021, with numbers rising to around 188,000 uninsured vehicles in 2022, or one in every 12 private vehicles in use across the country.

It is illegal to drive on Irish roads without valid motor insurance. Under Irish law, penalties for vehicles found without valid insurance include the authority to impound the vehicle on the spot and other penalties such as an automatic court appearance, five penalty points and a fine.

The Garda will now have access to data including the name and address of the insurance policy holder, the insurance policy number and the validity dates of that policy, the registration number of the vehicle covered by the policy and the drivers covered by the insurance. Policy and drivers date of birth. This means that if a vehicle's insurance expires, gardaí will have access to information providing those details.

With the addition of data related to fleet and motor trader vehicles, the number of vehicles covered by insurance data updates is expected to rise further early next year. Ahead of that measure coming into force, fleet owners, managers and motor traders have until the end of November to upload any vehicles covered by flexible motor insurance policies to the national fleet database.

MIBI CEO David Fitzgerald said today's agreement is an important milestone in the fight against uninsured driving.

"With full data transfer for private vehicles now in force, members of An Garda Síochána will have access to real-time motor insurance information. So law enforcement will not rely on checking motor insurance certificates, they will be able to obtain details. For a vehicle's motor insurance policy, the period for which the policy applies and information about the persons covered by the policy, "We have seen how effective the anti-uninsured driving weapon has been in the UK and we hope it will have a similar effect in Ireland - making it impossible for motorists to operate illegally and drive without valid motor insurance." Fitzgerald said.

Garda Assistant Commissioner Paula Hillman said the agreement would act as a modern and effective tool in the fight against uninsured driving.

"Using this data, members of An Garda Síochána across the country will now have access to the most up-to-date and comprehensive motor insurance information for all private vehicles operating on our roads. Driving without insurance will be an offence, making the roads safer in the process," added the Assistant Commissioner.

The agreement is the culmination of years of collaboration between the MIBI, An Garda Síochána, the Department for Transport, Insurance Ireland, the insurance industry and other stakeholders aimed at reducing the number of uninsured vehicles driving in Ireland.