Drivers must provide unique licence numbers to insurers under new rules
The rule change is the last phase of the database project — which was a joint initiative between the department, the gardaí, Insurance Ireland, insurance providers and the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland. Picture: iStock
In a bid to clamp down on rule breakers on Irish roads, all drivers in Ireland will have to provide the unique number on their driving licence to insurers when renewing their policy from Monday.
From March 31, it is now an offence for any insurance provider or broker to issue a policy for motor insurance where the driver number from a person’s licence has not been supplied.
In practice, it will mean that anyone who does not give the driver numbers for all named drivers on their policy will not be legally able to acquire motor insurance.
While drivers with existing policies do not have to take action now, they will have to provide their driver number when renewing the policy. This can be found under Section 4 (D) of every driver’s licence.
In response to a parliamentary question, the minister for transport, Darragh O’Brien, has said that An Garda Síochána now receives a nightly file from his department which includes the disqualification status of every driving licence.
This data can then be used by frontline gardaí using scanners at the roadside.
“Separately, the Irish Motor Insurance Database (IMID) contains details of all vehicles and drivers who hold policies of motor insurance,” he said.
"The data from IMID are also transferred nightly to An Garda Síochána for their use on mobility devices," he added.
He said that motor insurers won’t have the same real time data from March 31, as this requires information technology changes at the Department of Transport and at many insurer and broker platforms.
The insurance industry has said this new addition will give gardaí a more comprehensive insight into offences drivers may have committed, making it more difficult for those who act illegally on the roads to avoid detection.
This is the last phase of the database project — which was a joint initiative between the department, the gardaí, Insurance Ireland, insurance providers and the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland.
Provision for it was made in the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023, which was aimed at further enhancing road safety in Ireland.
“This is an important measure that will help bring more safety to Irish roads and greater accountability to anyone who breaks the law,” the bureau's CEO, David Fitzgerald, said.
"This new legal requirement provides An Garda Síochána with a more comprehensive insight into any offences a driver may have committed, making it even more difficult for drivers who act illegally on Irish roads to evade detection.”
