A 12-week course leading to a certificate of competency is being considered as a way of reducing insurance premiums for young drivers.
Insurance industry representatives are discussing the idea with the Departments of Environment and Local Government and Enterprise, Trade and Employment as part of an effort to reduce insurance premiums, particularly for young male drivers.
A three-stage process is being considered, with the first being the application for a licence, the second the completion of the 12week course leading to a certificate, and the third the driving test itself.
The possibility of grading young drivers who take part in the competency course may form part of the scheme, according to the Minister of State for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Noel Treacy, who has responsibility for the insurance industry.
Mr Treacy told the annual general meeting of the Irish Brokers' Association in Galway that a vital key to resolving the young driver problem lay in the system of driver-licensing, which would have to be upgraded and adjusted. He said he had asked his colleague, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Dempsey, to examine the driver-licensing system, particularly in relation to the novice and inexperienced driver.
"I understand that Minister Dempsey's Department has been considering a graduated licensing system suitable for this jurisdiction. Such a system would, I believe, assist insurers in refining and segmenting the young driver market in a more scientific manner," he said.
Mr Conor Faughnan, public affairs manager with the AA, said: "All we have at the minute are 20minute driving tests, and there is a six-month waiting list for them." Twenty-three per cent of existing Irish drivers were using provisional licences, he said.
