Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1975 > Committee on the Secondary Legislation of the European Communities > Report No. 22 - Statutory instruments [9] made under the European Communities Act 1972

APPENDIX VI.

European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations, 1975 [S.I. No. 178 of 1975].

An Rúnaí,

An Roinn Rialtais Áitiúil.

I am directed by the Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Secondary Legislation of the European Communities to state that the European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations, 1975 [S.I. No. 178 of 1975] will shortly be examined by the Joint Committee.

I am to request you to be good enough to answer the following queries for the information of the Joint Committee:—

(1) The provisions relating to vehicles from designated territories outside the EEC do not appear to arise out of Directive No. 72/166/EEC of 24 April, 1972. Presumably, therefore, if they come within the statutory power conferred on the Minister by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 they arise from an agreement which is binding on the State by virtue of Article 228 (2) of the EEC Treaty. If this is correct what is the agreement involved?

(2) Is the new subsection (2A) which has been inserted in section 56 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 intended to impose on vehicle owners the obligation of ensuring that their current policies are amended to comply with the provisions of the subsection?

(3) Is there any provision in Irish statutory law, analogous to section 76 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961, whereby a claimant against a driver of a vehicle from a designated territory can institute proceedings against the foreign insurers or some other body instead of the driver?

(4) Are there any Regulations made under section 80 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 which are affected by S.I. No. 178 of 1975 and, if so, what action is being taken in regard to them?

(5) What is the significance of the use of the word “negligent” in Article 3 of the Regulations and, where it secondly occurs, in Article 4 and is anything gained by including the word at all?

(6) Is the phrase, “other than Ireland”, necessary in Article 5?

(7) Did S.I. No. 178 of 1975 come into operation on 5th August, 1975 and, if so, how is this reconciled with Article 8 of the Directive?

5 Meán Fómhair, 1975.

Clerk of the Joint Committee,

Joint Committee on The Secondary

Legislation of the European Communities,

Leinster House,

Dublin 2.

I am directed by the Minister for Local Government to refer to your minute of the 5th September 1975 regarding the European Communities (Road Traffic) (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations, 1975 and to furnish the following replies to the points raised in your minute:—

1. The provisions relating to vehicles from designated territories outside the EEC arise out of Article 7 of Directive No. 72/166/EEC following decisions of the Commission, copies of which are enclosed, relating to the application of the Directive.

2. The new sub-section (2A) became necessary in order to meet the obligation imposed by Article 3, paragraph 2, of the Directive which obliges Member States to ensure that contracts of insurance will cover, according to the law in force in other Member States, any loss or injury caused in the territory of those States. There is an onus on the motor insurers therefore to provide policies such as the law requires, and although these regulations did not become effective until 5th August 1975 all motor insurance policies issued or in force here on and after 1st January 1974 do in fact provide the appropriate extended cover, following a relevant inter-Bureaux agreement.

3. In answer to this question dealing with Section 76 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 you will note that under Article 5 of the Regulations the definition of an approved policy of insurance has in the case of vehicles from the designated territories been extended to include policies issued in those countries which under the terms of the Directive are required to cover the use of vehicles in this country.

Under the terms of a supplementary agreement between the national insurers Bureaux of the Member States, each national bureaux guarantees the settlement in accordance with its own national law on compulsory insurance of claims in respect of accidents occurring in its territory caused by vehicles normally based in the territory of another Member State whether or not such vehicles are insured. Similar agreements have been reached between the bureaux of the Member States and the bureaux of the designated non EEC States. The Irish Visiting Motorists Bureau handles on behalf of Irish claimants claims arising in this country against drivers of vehicles from all the designated territories and recoups the amount from the bureau of the territory involved. Copies of this agreement and the original agreement between the Bureaux are enclosed.

4. The Mechanically Propelled Vehicles (International Circulation) Order, 1961 (S.I. No. 269 of 1961) was made inter alia under Section 80 of the Road Traffic Act, 1933, and continues in force by virtue of section 10 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961. Article 13 provides that an international motor insurance card (Green Card) shall be deemed to be a certificate of insurance and the Irish Bureau shall be deemed to be the vehicle insurer which issued the said certificate and to be competent to act as insurer. The recent regulations provide that an insurance policy issued in accordance with the national laws on compulsory insurance in the designated territories shall be an approved policy of insurance. Accordingly Article 13 of the order mentioned above is thus indirectly affected by S.I. No. 178 of 1975, in that a Green Card will no longer be needed by a visiting motorist from any of the designated territories unless he wishes to have extra insurance cover.

5. The word “negligent” in Article 3 is intended to have the same significance as in Section 56 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961.

6. The phrase “other than Ireland” in Article 5 appears to be superflous in the light of the definition at (b) of Article 3. The purpose of the Article is not affected however.

7. The Regulations did not come into operation until the 5th August 1975 but as explained at 2 above extended cover has been given since 1st January 1974 and by arrangement with the Garda authorities normal frontier and internal checks were duly abolished with effect from 15th May 1974.

17 Deireadh Fómhair, 1975.