S.I. No. 322/1987 - European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1987.

S.I. No. 322 of 1987.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (ROAD TRAFFIC) (COMPULSORY INSURANCE) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1987.

The Minister for the Environment in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) hereby makes the following Regulations:—

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1987.

(2) These Regulations and the European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations, 1975 ( S.I. No. 178 of 1975 ) shall be construed as one and may be cited together as the European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations, 1975 to 1987.

2. In these Regulations "the Act" means the Road Traffic Act, 1961 (No. 24 of 1961).

3. (1) These Regulations with the exception of sub-article (2) of article 4 shall come into operation on the 31st day of December, 1987.

(2) Sub-article (2) of Article 4 of these Regulations shall come into operation on the 31st day of December, 1988.

4. (1) The following subsection is hereby substituted for subsection (2) of section 56 of the Act—

"(2) ( a ) The insurance required by this section may be subject to a limitation in respect of injury to property where such injury is caused by any one act of negligence or any one series of acts of negligence collectively constituting one event as follows—

(i) where the act or series of acts of negligence occur on or after the 31st day of December, 1987 and before the 31st day of December, 1990, a limitation of £40,000, and

(ii) where the act or series of acts of negligence occur on or after the 31st day of December, 1990, a limitation of £80,000.

( b ) There may be excepted from the liability covered by the insurance required by this section any liability (in excess of the common law or the statutory liability applicable to the case) undertaken by the insured by special contract."

(2) The following subsection is hereby substituted for subsection (8) of section 56 of the Act—

"(8) In this Part of this Act, a reference to the territory in which a vehicle is normally based shall be a reference to the territory of the State of which the vehicle bears a registration plate; or in a case where no registration is required for a type of vehicle but the vehicle bears an insurance plate or a distinguishing sign analogous to the registration plate, the territory of the State in which the insurance plate or the sign is issued; or in a case where a registration plate or insurance plate or distinguishing sign is not required for a vehicle, the territory of the State in which the person who has custody of the vehicle is permanently resident."

5. The following subsection is hereby substituted for subsection (3) of section 62 of the Act—

"(3) A policy of insurance shall not be prevented from being an approved policy of insurance merely by reason of the insurance being subject to a limitation or an exception referred to in subsection (2) of section 56 of this Act."

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment this 11th day of December, 1987.

PADRAIG FLYNN,

Minister for the Environment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations give legal effect to certain provisions of the Second Council Directive on Motor Insurance — Second Council Directive (84/5/EEC) of 30th December, 1983 on the approximation of the laws of Member States relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles (O.J. No. L 8/17 — 11/1/1984).

These Regulations amend Sections 56 (2) and 62 (3) of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 to increase the statutory minimum property damage cover which must be provided in an approved policy of motor insurance from the present £1,000 to £40,000 from 31st December, 1987, and to £80,000 from 31st December, 1990. As property damage cover voluntarily offered by insurers for private motor cars is unlimited, the new statutory limit will principally affect commercial vehicles for which property damage cover is generally £25,000. The increased minimum property damage cover will benefit all Irish registered vehicles damaged by foreign registered vehicles visiting Ireland — as foreign insurers can and do invoke the minimum statutory cover when settling claims from Irish residents via the Irish Visiting Motorists' Bureau (IVMB).

These Regulations also amend Section 56(8) of the 1961 Act to change the primary definition of the expression "territory in which a vehicle is normally based" from "the territory of the State in which it is registered" to "the territory of the State of which the vehicle bears a registration plate". This will facilitate the payment of compensation by the Irish Visiting Motorists' Bureau (IVMB) to innocent victims of road accidents occurring on or after 31/12/1988 which involve vehicles fitted with false foreign registration plates i.e. where the vehicle is not legally registered in the foreign country concerned. The Bureau will be able to pay compensation and recoup the cost from the Bureau of the State whose national plate was falsely displayed on the vehicle.

The conditions governing payment of compensation to victims of accidents involving stolen or uninsured vehicles by the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) are set out in an Agreement between the MIBI and the Minister for the Environment [PR 8126] dated 30th December, 1964. A new Agreement will be made, before the end of 1988, improving procedures and entitlements under the 1964 Agreement, as required by the Second EEC Motor Insurance Directive.

These Regulations should be read in conjunction with the Road Traffic (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1987 [ S.I. No. 321 of 1987 ] — which implement other provisions of the Second EEC motor Insurance Directive and which, in effect, preclude a motor insurer from refusing or reducing compensation by a victim of a road accident where the driver would otherwise be insured but where:

— the vehicle has been used without the consent of a named person; or

— the driver does not hold a valid driving licence or, where appropriate, a public service vehicle licence.