The Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) has welcomed the introduction of a penalty points system to discourage speeding.

The penalty system came into force in Ireland this week.
Since 1998, 2,027 people have died on the country's roads, despite a government strategy called The Road to Safety being launched in the same year.

IIF chief executive Michael Kemp said it was clear a penalty system was needed.

However, he called on the government to extend the system from speeding to at least 61 other offences, such as driving without insurance and driving without seatbelts.

He said the government's assurance that insurers would be able to get information on individual driver's penalty points "in some format" was promising.

"Insurance companies place faith in the use of sanctions as the most effective deterrent against careless driving," Kemp said.

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