Car insurance quotes for returning emigrants 'criminally expensive'

Insurance companies will be called before an Oireachtas committee to explain why premiums are so high for returning emigrants.

Speaking at the opening of the Global Irish Civic Forum in Dublin Castle on Thursday, Minister of State for Diaspora Joe McHugh said insurance companies should "see the potential in returning emigrants" and offer them better deals.

A survey of 400 recently returned Irish citizens, published by Crosscare Migrant Project on Wednesday, found the cost of car insurance and tax, and applying for driving licences, were among the biggest challenges they experienced after moving home.

Respondents described the process of applying for insurance as a “nightmare”, “crippling” and “criminally expensive”.

Some said they have been considered “new drivers” by insurance companies, and offered extortionate quotes or refused insurance altogether. Others reported being denied no-claims bonuses, and said their clean driving records from overseas have not been recognised, a situation Mr McHugh described as “nonsense”.

“I don’t accept that. I don’t think that is right,” he told the meeting of more than 200 delegates, representing 150 Irish diaspora organisations from around the world.

An interdepartmental group on the Irish abroad, chaired by Mr McHugh, is examining the barriers that hinder emigrants returning from abroad, and insurance is among the primary issues to be addressed, the Minister said.

Sinn Féin spokesman for the diaspora, Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, said the Government needed to be “a lot more proactive” on the issue.

“The majority of these insurance companies operate in international spheres and are in some cases insuring the same people in whichever jurisdiction they are living at present, so to think that they could not recognise their previous driving histories is unacceptable and needs to change.

“The government must play its part also in developing bilateral agreements that will ensure that these highly profitable companies take these issues on board and act fairly.”

Executive director of the Coalition for Irish Immigration Centres in the US, Celine Kennelly, said the cost of car insurance was the single biggest concern being raised by Irish immigrants in the US who were thinking of moving home.

Driving licences obtained in the US or some provinces in Canada are not recognised in Ireland, and some survey participants complained about having to complete 12 mandatory lessons and a driving test despite having a foreign licence and years of driving experience.

Mr McHugh said the group had met with the Taoiseach last week to discuss the issues raised in the Crosscare report, and he was “very interested in the whole drivers licences issue”.

The Government plans to roll out an online application system for drivers licences in the near future, similar to the recently launched online passport service, which could help to address the difficulties emigrants experience with licences, he said.

The Crosscare report identified emotional readjustment as one of the biggest challenges for returning emigrants, which is beyond the Government’s control, Mr McHugh said, but “there are issues Government can control, and that responsibility lies on me”.

The two-day Global Irish Civic Forum forum, which follows a similar model to the bi-annual Global Irish Economic Forum, was proposed as part of the Government’s diaspora policy, published in 2015. This is the second time the forum has been held.

The aim is to bring representatives from a diverse range of organisations, from welfare to business, sports and culture, together to share with Government, and each other, their experiences, views and suggestions for best supporting the Irish diaspora worldwide.

Among the topics being discussed at the two-day event are proposals to extend voting rights in presidential elections to citizens living outside the State; the implementation of the Government’s diaspora policy, published just before the last forum in 2015; new emigration trends and the future needs of the Irish abroad; and how returning emigrants can be better supported.