AA Ireland: История, услуги и противоречия автомобильной организации

Irish automotive services organization

AA Ireland Ltd is an automotive services company in Ireland, founded in 1910. It provides rescue services, personal lines insurance, and travel, technical and information services. The company was formerly part of The AA, the British automobile association, but was separated in 2016 after AA Ireland was sold to Carlyle Cardinal Ireland, and in October 2020, it was sold on to Further Global Capital Management.

AA Roadwatch was the major supplier of traffic & travel information in Ireland from its establishment in 1989 until it ended abruptly in 2021. The AA used the Roadwatch brand to supply traffic information through live broadcasts, on RTÉ, Today FM and some local radio stations. It later added online and social media channels. On 9 July 2021 the AA issued a media statement saying “As of July 10th 2021, The AA will no longer provide AA Roadwatch broadcasts, effective immediately”, although it in fact also cancelled the remaining broadcasts for that day, and its previously active Twitter account fell largely silent. AA Roadwatch, and the radio stations which carried it, particularly the national broadcaster RTÉ, were criticised for broadcasting what amounted to hundreds of free advertisements for a motor insurance company each week, and for allowing the AA, a registered political lobbyist, to supply a service for free to RTÉ news programmes. RTÉ programmes may not, by law, be sponsored in cash or kind by political lobbyists, and its news programmes may not be sponsored at all. An RTÉ spokesperson denied to the independent current affairs podcast Here’s How that AA Roadwatch constituted advertising, but refused to be drawn on exactly what the broadcasts were classified as. A subsequent complaint against RTÉ to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland failed, but during the complaint process, a number of changes were made to the AA Roadwatch format, particularly removing the call to action for listeners to telephone the AA’s insurance sales number, or visit their website, ostensibly to ‘report’ traffic.

In 2016, AA Ireland began offering life insurance and mortgage protection through a partnership with Aviva plc, to both new and existing customers, as part of a new venture.

AA Travel Insurance offers a range of travel insurance policies including coverage for flight cancellations, lost or stolen luggage and medical expenses. The AA offers annual (multi trip) travel insurance, winter sports cover, backpacker cover, single trip as well as European breakdown cover.

Alongside its work in the motor and insurance industries, AA Ireland also carries out inspections and gradings of Irish hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs and tourist accommodation. As part of this work, The AA Rosette Scheme is designed to recognise culinary standards demonstrated by AA Accredited properties across Ireland and the UK. The aim of the Rosette system is to provide information for all patrons about where to eat. Rosettes are awarded on a rising scale of 1 to 5.

An AA app was first launched in 2013. The app can be used to check AA Roadwatch traffic updates in real time, provides journey planning assistance using AA Routeplanner, and has a "rescue" feature for members to report a breakdown and track the AA Patrol response.

The AA Approved Service fix and maintain your car with fixed price options and upfront communication about repairs. They ensure quality work with a 12 month warranty on parts and labour.

The AA plays a role in international motoring through affiliation with the world's motoring clubs. The AA was a founder member of Alliance Internationale de Tourisme (AIT), whose member clubs represent more than 128 million members worldwide. The AA is also a shareholder in Arc Transistance which provides emergency roadside assistance throughout Europe.

The European Campaign for Safe Road Design was a partnership between 28 European road safety stakeholders that called in 2009 for the EU to invest in safe road infrastructure initiatives, which the group claimed could cut deaths on European roads by 33% in less than a decade. AA Ireland was the campaign's partner in Ireland.