Making accurate comparisons between motor insurance costs in Ireland and other European countries is difficult due to a number of factors such as type of insurance cover, age groups, types of vehicles and even regional differences within countries. There are also differences in how compensation for motor injuries is paid in countries such as France, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, who provide compensation benefits, almost exclusively, through the medium of social security benefits with a high level of earnings-related income support. Ireland, on the other hand, effectively operates two parallel systems of compensation provision, that is, a social security scheme of occupational injury benefits, paid on a flat-rate basis with increases for qualified dependants, while allowing unrestricted access to tort liability claims for compensation for loss of earnings and pain and suffering. The following table compares the average motor premium per vehicle in a number of European countries in 1997.