County Carlow among counties that sees a 98.9% increase in drivers caught with no insurance

Ireland South MEP, Carlow native, and member of the EU Transport committee, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, will raise the price of insurance for Carlow and Kilkenny motorists in the Transport Committee of the European Parliament and has called for urgent measures to address the spike in the number of drivers caught driving without insurance in every Garda district in Ireland.

The Ireland South MEP has called for the immediate implementation of the Action Plan for Insurance Reform promised in the Programme for Government.

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Ní Mhurchú described the Garda figures, which are provided in a table below, as shocking. Galway was the worst Garda districts in the country recording a 199% increase in the number of drivers caught driving without insurance between 2023 and 2024. The Dublin South Central Garda district recorded a 166% increase and Kerry recorded a 115.7% increase in drivers caught driving without insurance between 2023 and 2024. Carlow and Kilkenny recorded a 98.9% increase.

Garda figures show that between Q2 2023 and Q2 2024 there were significant increases in the number of vehicles detained by Gardaí across every county under Section 41 of the Roads Traffic Act 1994 “from a driver without an approved policy of insurance”.

Ní Mhurchú says high car insurance premiums may be the reason for the spike in motorists driving without insurance,

“It appears likely there is a correlation between the excessive cost of car insurance in Ireland and the spike in motorists driving without insurance. That in no way justifies a motorist driving without insurance and uninsured drivers involved in accidents only serves to further increase the average cost of premiums. The cost of car insurance has risen by over 11% in a year according to CSO figures, well above and beyond the level of inflation.

In France, analysts believe motor insurance premiums are forecast to rise by an average of between 4% and 6% this year, half of Irelands increase. Whilst the cost of insurance in Estonia grew by 22% in 2023, it is still relatively low at an average of €144. Average motor premiums in rural Hungary are as low as €130 per year.

Ní Mhurchú has vowed to raise the issue in the EU Transport Committee and will lobby her colleagues in government to implement the Action Plan for Insurance Reform promised in the Programme for Government.