The Revenue has been granted High Court orders that will force insurance companies to impart by October information on individuals who invested more than 50,000 in single insurance premiums between 1 January 1990 and 31 December 2003.

Normal practice when Revenue gets these orders is for insurance companies to inform the policy holders in question so they get an opportunity to take whatever action they need.

This time around, Revenue has asked insurance companies to also include declaration forms that taxpayers who have nothing to worry about can use to seek to be eliminated from any future Revenue enquiries.

CAR SALES REVVED UP BY YOUNG WOMEN DRIVERS YOUNG women are playing a major role in driving the car sales market, a study from GE Money shows. The number of applications for car finance from women under 30 has increased seven-fold since 2000, it found. Over the same period, applications from those over 55 experienced a small drop.

Borrowings by women in their 20s were up by 50% over the period, and the average age of women applying for a car loan was 35, three years younger than the male average.

Fancy second-hand cars are growing increasingly popular, with more than 60% of female borrowers plumping for marque over registration year . . .

compared with less than 30% doing so six years ago.

Still, some things don't change. Men are still keener than women on more expensive motors, borrowing an average of slightly under 15,000, while women borrow around 3,000 less.

The number of two car families is also increasing.

In 2000, 21% of all applications for car finance were joint, but this dropped to only 10% this year.

Somewhat surprisingly, Cavan borrowers borrowed most in the first half of 2006.

PENSIONS DEAL AIMED AT ENTICING SSIA CASH THE Pensions Board is on a drive to get SSIA holders to invest in their pensions when the savings accounts mature, highlighting the substantial benefits of using SSIA cash to save for their old age.

This is a route many SSIA savers are considering, judging by the CSO Quarterly National Household Survey for the last quarter of 2005. Those surveyed said that more than 46% of their fund will be committed to savings, pensions and investments.

The incentives to park SSIA monies in a pension are quite enticing. This year's Finance Act provides that the Exchequer will pay 1 into the pension account for every 3 transferred from an SSIA, up to a maximum bonus of 2,500.

The exit tax for cashing in SSIAs on maturity will also be refunded in proportion to the amount transferred into a pension.

The bonus and exit tax refund will be an alternative to the usual pensions tax relief at the saver's marginal tax rate, but this incentive is restricted to SSIA holders with an income limit of 50,000.

You can check out further details of these incentives on the Department of Finance website at www. finance. gov. ie.

PERMANENT TSB OFFERS BROWSEALOUD BANKING PERMANENT TSB has become the first Irish financial institution to offer an internet banking service tailored for those with reading or vision difficulties.

The bank has introduced a new talk-back computer program called Browsealoud, which enables people to hear words spoken to them by rolling their cursor over the area of the website that interests them.

Users can also tailor the voiceover to their taste or mood: the software program enables them to change everything from the sex of the voice to its volume, pitch accent and speed.