A total of 19,673 vehicles were confiscated by gardaí last year for being operated without insurance, according to a report published by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI).
The Irish Motor Insurance Database (IMID) Annual Report 2025 reveals that gardaí have impounded 38,546 vehicles for having no insurance during the first two years of using the new database system, reports RTE.
The IMID platform enables gardaí to verify a vehicle’s insurance status within seconds, either through automatic number plate recognition technology or via a handheld mobile device.
Alongside the vehicles seized, 51,024 charges and summonses have been issued to motorists caught driving without insurance since 2024, with 25,009 of those recorded last year, reports RTE.
The database contains information such as policyholder details, vehicle registration numbers and the names of drivers authorised to operate vehicles covered under each policy.
This data is supplied by motor insurers, brokers, fleet owners and motor traders, and is shared with the Department of Transport and An Garda Síochána, reports RTE.
It also includes the driver numbers of all insured motorists, and by the end of last year 4,589,494 valid driver numbers had been uploaded to the IMID, along with records for 3,646,638 vehicles.
Separately, the IMID report indicates that by the close of 2025, details relating to 384,247 individual vehicles had been entered into a dedicated subsection for fleet vehicles, reports RTE.
However, the MIBI believes that thousands of fleet vehicles remain absent from the system.
Since November 2023, fleet owners and motor traders have been legally obliged to upload details of all vehicles insured under such policies to the database, with failure to do so carrying the risk of prosecution and fines of up to €500 per vehicle, reports RTE.
MIBI Chief Executive David Fitzgerald said driving without insurance “has been a problem in this country for quite a while”.
“That is why IMID was set up – to make it easier for An Garda Síochána to identify those who are breaking the law,” Mr Fitzgerald said, reports RTE.
“So it is very pleasing to see that more than 38,000 vehicles have been seized by the gardaí since we began using this system and over 51,000 charges and summons have been issued during that same period,” he added, reports RTE.
The MIBI estimates that claims arising from uninsured drivers add approximately €35 to the price of motor insurance policies, reports RTE.
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