One in every 13 private vehicles on Irish roads is uninsured, according to new figures from the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland (MIBI).
A total of 174,000 private vehicles were uninsured in Ireland last year, up 23,000 since 2018.
The MIBI described the issue as "problematic".
Of the 2.23 million private vehicles on Irish roads, almost 8% are uninsured.
To address the rising level of uninsured vehicles, the MIBI is calling on the Government to quickly pass the Road Traffic and Road Bill, which it said will empower the further roll-out of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system.
This system and the underlying Motor Third Party Liability insurance database, allows gardaí to identify uninsured vehicles simply by scanning their licence plate.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One programme, David Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of the MIBI, said he thinks this system will be a game changer in reducing the number of uninsured cars on our roads.
"There are cameras in the garda cars and in thousands of handheld devices on the frontline and they can point those cameras at licence plates and this system will be able to tell them whether or not the vehicle appears uninsured," he explained.
Mr Fitzgerald said the system is currently operating in a limited capacity, with figures from An Garda Síochána revealing that it is identifying 128 uninsured vehicles per day on average.
He said he expects that figure to increase substantially once they have the system fully operational.
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Penalties
Vehicles operating on Irish roads are legally required to hold valid motor insurance.
The MIBI said the penalties for vehicles found without valid insurance include An Garda Síochána having the power to seize the vehicle on the spot, as well as other significant penalties such as an automatic court appearance, five penalty points and a substantial fine.
Additionally, in the case of any accidents involving uninsured drivers, the MIBI said it will pursue the driver for costs under their right to recovery.
In 2021, the average costs involved in such claims paid by the MIBI, where a victim was injured, reached €78,736.
As these costs are passed on to all the motor insurance companies operating in the Republic of Ireland, the MIBI said this effectively adds approximately €30 - €35 to the value of all motor insurance premiums in this country.
