JOHN RYAN,
Sir, - I am a 28-year-old male who has returned from the US having lived there for almost five years. Needing a car for work, I went for one with a relatively low running cost - until I factored in the expense of car insurance, that is.
For the "pleasure" of driving a 1.9 diesel VW Vento I am paying €2,800. I drove a 2.8 litre petrol Audi in the US with a premium half this amount.
This premium, I am told by the insurance industry, may or may not get reduced next year, but certainly not by any significant amount. I feel sick at the thought of having to pay this annually for who knows how long, and very angry knowing that the insurance companies appear to be operating as some kind of cartel that is holding most young and not-so-young men to ransom around the country.
There is no comparison between the insurance rates charged in Ireland and other parts of the EU or the US, and I would call on the Government to address the matter immediately.
A tribunal in 20 years' time to investigate this carry-on will be of little consolation to those of us who will have given significant portions of our salaries just for the delight of driving on congested, pothole-riddled, poorly lit, narrow roads, only to get stuck behind a tractor on the main Dublin-Cork road. Where's my suitcase? - Yours, etc.,
John Ryan,
Tiermore,
Freighduff,
Cashel,
Co Tipperary.