Ms Flor MacCarthy, news reporter and presenter in RTE, bought her VW Polo in January of this year and started looking for insurance the same afternoon.

"I was dying to drive it but the car ended up being stuck in the garage for three days while I tried to organise the insurance," she says.

Ms MacCarthy rang 10 insurance companies and one broker and with each call everything was fine until she was asked for her occupation. "The initial reaction was silence, followed by `oh', and three refused to quote me at all."

The highest quote Ms MacCarthy received was £1,300 (#1,650) and some of the insurers quoted her reluctantly, warning her that it would be very expensive. "I asked them why my premium was being so heavily loaded, did they think I was out chasing bank robbers?"

She was told that any reporter was considered high-risk.

"I'm very angry that motor insurance here is so much higher than in other comparable countries in Europe and I resent being penalised when I've never even had the tiniest scratch."

Ms MacCarthy ended up paying £800 for her insurance.