Vol. 227 No. 7
asked the Minister for External Affairs what is the attitude of the Government with regard to the proposals contained in Recommendation No. 480 on civil liability for motor accidents, which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 26th January, 1967.
4.
asked the Minister for External Affairs what is the attitude of the Government with regard to Recommendation No. 480 on civil liability for motor accidents which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 26th January, 1967; and whether he will instruct his Permanent Representative in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to vote in favour of the proposals contained in this recommendation.
With your permission, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together.
The question of Ireland becoming a party to the European Convention on Compulsory Insurance against Civil Liability in respect of Motor Vehicles, referred to in Recommendation No. 480, is under examination at present and our Permanent Representative in the Committee of Ministers' Deputies has been instructed not to oppose this part of the Recommendation.
The other proposal in the Recommendation is the question of studying, at European level, the civil liability of motorists with a view to harmonising the risks being covered by compulsory motor insurance in member states and paying particular attention to the possibility of abolishing the "fault" principle. This proposal was put forward by the Minister for Justice and will be supported by our Permanent Representative.
Has the Minister any indication as to whether or not that would affect insurance premiums?
I really could not answer that question.
