Vol. 491 No. 3
92 Mr. Callely asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the success of her initiatives to reduce the cost of motor insurance, particularly for young people; the actual measures available to her to address this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12049/98]
I would refer the Deputy to the reply which I gave to the House on 18 February 1998 on the subject of the relatively high motor insurance costs borne by young drivers.
There is no simple solution to this complex problem presented by young or inexperienced drivers as a high risk insurance category. The adverse statistics relating to high claims frequency and cost of claims by young drivers have been referred to on numerous occasions in this House and elsewhere. The key to reducing insurance costs for young drivers resides in reducing claims by improving both safety standards and safety awareness and creating incentives for careful and claims free driving.
As a result of our efforts, a number of initiatives have been taken to improve driving standards and safety awareness among young drivers. These include: the introduction of a scheme of insurance premium discounts by the insurance industry, in conjunction with the driving instructors register, on completion of a required number of driving lessons; the introduction of road safety educational programmes for students and advertising campaigns by the National Safety Council to discourage speeding and the ongoing examination by the Department of Environment and Local Government of a graduated licensing system for learner drivers. Such a system would assist insurers in refining and segmenting the young driver market in a more scientific manner.
