S.I. No. 321/1987 - Road Traffic (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1987.

S.I. No. 321 of 1987.

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

The Minister for the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 5 and paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 62 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 (No. 24 of 1961), hereby makes the following Regulations:—

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

(2) These Regulations and the Road Traffic (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations, 1962 to 1977, shall be construed as one and may be cited together as the Road Traffic (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations, 1962 to 1987.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 31st day of December, 1988.

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

4. The First Schedule to the Road Traffic (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations, 1962 is hereby amended by the insertion in paragraph (2) after sub-paragraph (h) of the following—

"(i) by specifying that the vehicle must not have been stolen or obtained by violence or taken without the consent of the owner or other lawful authority.

The conditions referred to at (e), (f) and (g) of paragraph (2) shall provide that the limitations or restrictions shall not apply as respects a claim by a person to recover moneys from the insurer under section 76 of the 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 the First Schedule to the Road Traffic (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations, 1962 [ S.I. No. 14 of 1962 ] to prevent insurers from refusing or reducing a claim by a third party victim of an accident where the driver of an insured vehicle did not have the consent of a named person or the driver did not hold a valid driver's licence or, where appropriate, a public service vehicle licence. The effect of this will be to transfer liability for relevant compensation claims from the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) to motor insurers.

These Regulations also explicitly provide that insurers can refuse claims arising out of the negligent use, in a public place, of a vehicle which has been stolen or obtained by violence or (contrary to section 112 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 ) taken or used without lawful authority e.g. for "joyriding". The innocent victim of a road accident involving such a vehicle can claim compensation, subject to certain conditions, from the MIBI.

These Regulations will be operative from 31/12/1988.

These Regulations should be read in conjunction with the European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1987 [ S.I. No. 322 of 1987 ] — which implement other provisions of the Second EEC Motor Insurance Directive relating to the minimum level of property damage cover; and the identification of the State of registration of a visiting vehicle by reference to the nationality of the foreign registration plate involved.