Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 January 2021
132. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport the deadline for completion of the project regarding the motor third party liability database that is intended to facilitate An Garda Síochána in detecting uninsured drivers which was originally legislated for in 2010 and had an original completion deadline of quarter 4 of 2018. [44832/20]
View answerI would like to thank the Deputy for raising this. I think we both agree on the importance of robust tools to address uninsured drivers, who are not only acting illegally and putting a burden of cost on law-abiding drivers, but are often also drivers who are also behaving dangerously in other ways.
As I have indicated before, the legislation in this area has been problematic since it was first passed in 2010. As the project evolved it became clear that the legislation needed further amendment, which was done first in 2016, and then again in 2018.
The project has reached a point where I think we can be clear on the final legislative needs, and I have indicated that I expect this to be addressed in the forthcoming Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which I expect to publish in the New Year. The Deputy will appreciate that this is not straightforward or simple to legislate for, touching as it does not only on road traffic law, with both domestic and EU aspects, but also the evolving regulatory environment for personal data and requiring the use of both State and privately-held records. I look forward to seeing the database fully operational. It will, as the Deputy says, provide a valuable tool for the Garda in addressing uninsured driving, will make our roads safer, and also I hope bring down insurance costs for the honest regular driver.
