Despite a concerted campaign by the bureau to pursue costs against every uninsured driver involved in an accident, in the six months to June this year there have been 1,060 accidents involving uninsured drivers, compared to 1,638 for the whole of 2005.

"While the figures dipped slightly last year, the are back up again this year, " said John Casey, chief executive of the MIBI which compensates victims of accidents involving uninsured drivers, stolen cars and foreign-registered cars.

But Casey vowed to continue his fight against the estimated 100,000 uninsured drivers in the country whose irresponsible actions add 45 to the insurance premium of the 1.5 million law-abiding motorists.

Up to two years ago the bureau pursued uninsured drivers on a case by case basis. But since 2004, it has employed solicitors and specialists in debt recovery, Mason, Hayes and Curran, to pursue every uninsured driver involved in an accident and recoup the money the bureau pays out to compensate their victims.

"To date we have recovered 500,000 in cash from the more co-operative uninsured drivers who have been tracked down" said Hayes.

"If the uninsured driver puts his hands up and acknowledges his or her responsibility, then the solicitors will negotiate a settlement involving either a lump sum or staged payments, " said Casey.

But unco-operative drivers are pursued all the way to the courts, he warned.

"To date, the bureau has secured over 100 judgements in the courts against these drivers and registers about one a week, " he said.

If the uninsured driver has no money or property, the bureau will register a judgement against any future financial or property gains they may make.

"If the individual inherits his parents' house in the future, we will have the court order ready, " said Casey.

The average injury compensation payout from car accidents is around 35,000 to 40,000 but in some cases, where there is serious longterm injury, the payout can reach over 1m.

"Obviously, the chances of recovering sums of over 1m are remote. Also, some drivers flee the country and it can be next to impossible to track them down. But they are the exceptions, " said Casey.

The MIBI pays out around 50 million in compensation to to victims of accidents involving uninsured drivers.