There has been a massive surge in the number of people being caught driving without insurance. This has been credited to new Garda technology as well as largescale checkpoints. Detection rates have more than doubled in most Garda policing divisions between 2023 and 2024.

The Waterford/Kilkenny/Carlow Garda division recorded one of the largest increases in the country with a staggering 98.9% increase in the number of drivers caught behind the wheel without insurance between 2023 and 2024.

Garda figures obtained by Ireland South MEP, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, show that between Q2 of 2023 and Q2 of 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”.

David Fitzgerald, CEO of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI), said, “These figures show just how much of an impact the use of the Irish Motor Insurance Database is having on the detection of uninsured vehicles operating on Irish roads.

“The gardaí have described the entire system as a ‘game-changer’ and that is very much the view of all those involved in this project, which was set up to tackle the high levels of drivers who were breaking the law by driving without insurance.

“The simple fact of the matter is that the new system allows gardaí to see in seconds if a vehicle has insurance or not via their handheld device. This has significantly enhanced their ability to detect this illegal driving activity and means that anyone driving without insurance has never been more likely to get caught.”

The Irish Motor Insurance Database (IMID), comprising the Motor Third Party Liability (MTPL) Database and the National Fleet Database (NFD), provides a single point of reference for motor vehicles insured in Ireland.

The data in the IMID is provided by motor insurers, brokers, fleet owners and motor traders. The data includes policy holder details, vehicles registration numbers and names of drivers that are permitted to driver the vehicles that are covered by each policy. The IMID is managed by the MIBI and the data is shared with the Department of Transport and An Garda Síochána as set out in Section 78A of the Road Traffic Act.

It was estimated that there were roughly 190,000 uninsured vehicles on Irish roads in 2022. Driving a vehicle without insurance is a roads offence and it attracts punishments such as fines, five penalty points, the vehicle being seized and potential court summons. The fine can be as high as €5,000 for failing to have an insured car.

NB – This is a guide for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have an issue requiring legal advice, please contact any of the team at Nolan Farrell & Goff LLP, whose numbers can be found on our website www.nfg.ie, or email info@nfg.ie.