Since the car scrappage scheme was introduced at the start of the year, it was discovered that many people could not avail of scrappage as they were the owner of the vehicle but were only a named driver on their spouse’s policy. For example, up until now, if a husband was the registered owner of the car to be scrapped and his wife was the main policy holder of the insurance policy and he was a named driver, he could not avail of the scheme.
Obviously this has been causing much frustration for those genuine consumers looking to purchase a new car through the scrappage scheme. The SIMI (Society of the Irish Motor Industry) brought this anomaly to the attention of the Government in order to get this issue resolved. The Society is now pleased that an amendment has been made to the scheme in order to accommodate a person and their spouse. This has been added to the Scrappage FAQ’s on the Revenue website (www.revenue.ie):
My wife has an old car. I want to buy a new one, give her my old car and scrap hers. Am I eligible?
“Yes, if the scrapped vehicle and new vehicle are registered in either your name or in the name of your spouse, and you are either the holder of the insurance policy or a named driver on the insurance policy of your spouse for the scrapped vehicle you are eligible for the scrappage scheme”
I am a named driver on an insurance policy for my car. Am I eligible for the scrappage scheme?
“Yes, if you are a named driver and your spouse is the insurance policy holder for the scrapped vehicle. You must either be the policy holder or the named driver on the insurance policy of your spouse for the scrapped vehicle for a period of 12 months in the 18 months prior to the date of scrappage. You are not eligible if you are the named driver on the policy of another family member, e.g. a father or sister.”
If any member of the public has any questions in relation to the car scrappage scheme, they can contact the SIMI offices at 01 6761690 or email info@simi.ie