S.I. No. 463/2001 - European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 2001


In exercise of the powers conferred on the Minister of the Environment and Local Government, by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), which said powers are delegated to me by the Environment and Local Government (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 427 of 1997 ) and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive 72/166/EEC(1) as amended by Council Directive 84/5/EEC(2) , by Council Directive 90/232/EEC(3) , and by Council Directive 2000/26/EEC(4) , I, Robert Molloy, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government hereby make the following Regulations:-

1.     (1)    These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 2001.

(2)    These Regulations and the European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations, 1975 to 1995 shall be construed as one and may be cited together as the European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations, 1975 to 2001.

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

3.     The following subsection is hereby substituted for subsection (7) of section 5 of the Act as inserted by article 3 (b) of the European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations, 1975 ( S.I. No. 178 of 1975 ) and as amended by sub-article 2 of article 3 of the European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1995, ( S.I. No. 353 of 1995 )

“(7)    In this part of this Act, “the designated territories” means the European territories of the Member States, other than Ireland, of the European Community and Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland”.

4.     Section 69 of the Act is hereby amended by the addition thereto of the following subsection -

“(6)    This section shall not apply as respects a mechanically propelled vehicle which is normally based in any of the designated territories.”

5.     These Regulations shall come into effect on the 12th day of October, 2001.

Dated this 10th day of October, 2001.

    ROBERT MOLLOY                

Minister of State at

Department of the Environment

and Local Government

Explanatory Note

This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.

These regulations give legal effect to the following provisions of the First Motor Insurance Directive (72/166/EEC), as amended:

-   the extension of reciprocal compulsory third party motor insurance arrangements to Slovenia, Croatia and Cyprus by virtue of their Motor Insurance Bureaux having become a party to the Multilateral Guarantee Agreement between National Insurance Bureaux (O.J. No. L177 of 5.7.1991) and specific Commission decisions in each case. Existing reciprocity applies in the case of the other EU Member States and to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, the Slovak Republic and Switzerland

-   the abolition of random frontier and internal insurance checks on vehicles from the designated territories i.e. the territories of the states referred to in the preceding paragraph.

(1) OJ No. L103/1 of 2.5.1972

(2) OJ No. L8/17 of 11.1.1984

(3) OJ No. L129/33 of 19.5.1990

(4) OJ No. L181/65 of 20.7.2000