That old chestnut: insurance premiums - serious problem now.

[BBROWN1664]

Downey - I'm not sure if it has changed in the last 15 years but last time I was in Dublin, the younger staff where I was doing some work were complaining about high car insurance costs. The costs were high but when you considered the fact that the Irish Government had changed the rules to allow unqualified drivers to drive around alone before passing their test because the wait for tests was more than a few months, the number of accidents went through the roof and justified the costs.

I remember we had a 6-9 month wait for tests in the south east of England when I was taking my test. We didn't get that dispensation but still got the high insurance costs.