Borderwise Booklets
Issue 1
10TH January 2007
Going South – Motoring
©
NIACAB (Northern Ireland Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux)
This booklet
provides general information for people who are currently living in Northern Ireland but want to travel south of the border by car. It gives details of driver
and vehicle tests as well as information in driving offences and concessions.
S 12 Going South - Motoring
Driving in the South
The rules about
driving in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) are similar to those in Northern
Ireland (NI). You may get a
copy of Rules of the Road from local Motor Tax Offices. The road signs
and speed limits are in kilometres, not miles.
What type of licence do you need to drive in the south?
You must have a
current driving licence or a provisional driving licence for the type of
vehicle you are driving. A
driving licence issued by any other EU member state is valid in the South. If
you have such a licence, it is not necessary to get an Irish licence but you
may get one if you wish without a further driving test. Applications for
driving tests and driving licences should be made to the Motor Taxation Office
of your local County or City Council. Details can be found at: www.transport.ie
Driver and National Car Tests
National Car
Tests (NCT)
Vehicle testing
makes sure your vehicle is safe to use on the road. Passenger cars over four
years must have a valid NCT certificate and show the NCT disc on the
windscreen. The NCT is due on the anniversary date of the first registration in
the country of origin once it is over four years. Therefore, cars initially
registered in Northern Ireland will still require a NCT regardless of whether
it has previously received an MOT. Further information can be found: www.ncts.ie
Driving Tests
If you do not
hold a driving licence from the UK or EU you will need to apply to take a ROI
driving test. In order to take a test, you must be normally resident in Ireland and have an Irish correspondence address. Normal residence is taken to be the place
where the person usually lives, that is for at least 185 days in each calendar
year. For further information contact:
Driver Testing
Section
Road Safety Authority,
Government Buildings,
Ballina,
Co. Mayo.
Tel +353 96 78589
Registering a
vehicle
If you work in
ROI but continue to live in NI you do not need to register your vehicle unless
you take up residency there. However, if you bring a vehicle into Ireland from abroad to live, you must register it and pay Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) by
the end of the next working day following its arrival. A completed declaration
form together with the vehicle should be presented at any of the 23 Vehicle Registration
Offices (VRO). Further information can be found www.revenue.ie
Vehicle
Registration Tax (VRT)
Vehicle Registration
Tax is chargeable on registration of a motor vehicle. All motor vehicles in ROI,
other than those brought in temporarily by visitors, must be registered with
the Revenue Commissioners. A vehicle must be registered before it can be
licensed for road tax purposes.
Tax Relief on
Transfer of Residence
If you move to ROI permanently you must register your car however you
may be able to do this without incurring VRT. In order to qualify for relief from VRT,
you must have been resident in NI (or anywhere else in the EU) before you transfer
your residence to ROI. You are not regarded as having been resident in the NI
and do not get relief from VRT if:
- You had gone to
live in the North as a student
- You were
working in the North for less than a year and your personal ties remained
in the South
You do not get
relief from VRT if you were working in the North for more than a year and you
got tax relief in respect of another vehicle in the previous five years.
The car must be
your personal property and the appropriate taxes must have been paid where you
bought it. You must have owned and used it in the North for at least six
months before you move to the South. You must show evidence of meeting all
these requirements so you should retain documents which provide evidence of
your residence and your use of the car.
If you qualify
for relief from VRT you must not sell, hire or lend the car for the year
following its registration in the South. If you do, you become liable for VRT.
If you do not
meet the conditions for VRT relief, you can find out how much VRT is payable
at:
https://www.ros.ie/VRTEnquiryServlet/showVRT
Road Tax
Road tax is paid
annually to your local Motor Taxation Office. All vehicles must be taxed before
the vehicle is taken on the road. Over 70’s are exempt from paying road tax, as
are those with primary medical certificates qualifying for tax relief for
disabled drivers and passengers.
Insurance
All drivers must
have insurance covering them to drive a vehicle on a public road. You need to
display an up-to-date insurance disc. It is an offence not to have the disc on
display.
Driving Offences
Safety Belts
In general,
everyone in a car must wear a safety belt or child restraint if appropriate.
It is the responsibility of the driver to ensure that everyone under 17 is doing
so. These rules do not apply in older cars in which it was not mandatory to
fit seat belts. Cars registered since 1992 must have seat belts. It is not
mandatory to have a child restraint fitted.
On the spot
fines and Penalty Points
You may get an on
the spot fine for a range of motoring offences or you may be prosecuted through
the courts for such offences. You may also get penalty points for a range of
driving offences including breaking a speed limit, insurance offences and
failure to wear seat belts.
Penalty Points
Disqualification
When a person
accumulates a total of 12 points or more on their licence, then the Department
of Transport and the Marine will notify them that from a certain date they will
be disqualified from driving for a period of six months. The person will then
be required to hand in their driving licence to the licensing authority which
granted it. From April 2008 disqualification in one jurisdiction will also be
effective in another. Therefore, a driving disqualification from Northern Ireland will also be recognised in the Republic of Ireland.
Normal Speed
Limits are:
On a motorway –
120km/h
On a main road
(National road) – 100km/h
On the outskirts
of a built-up area (Regional and local roads) – 80km/h
In a build-up
area – 50km/h
Taxis
The Commission
for Taxi Regulation is gradually taking over the regulation of taxis. It has
or will have responsibility for licensing, ownership, control and operation of
taxis, hackneys, limousines and their drivers. This includes setting maximum
taxi fares.
Commission for
Taxi Regulation,
35 Fitzwilliam
Square, Dublin 2.
Telephone: +353 1
6593800
www.taxiregulator.ie
Help for People with Disabilities
Some people with
disabilities may qualify for help with transport costs.
Car
adaptations
The Health
Service Executive (see Leaflet N3) may pay a grant to help buy or adapt a car
for a person with a severe disability who needs it for work. In exceptional
circumstances, it may be payable if you live in a remote area and you are
unable to use public transport because of the disability.
Disabled
Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme
There is a range
of tax reliefs available to certain people with disabilities for the buying and
use of vehicles either as drivers or passengers. There are limits on the size
of the vehicles which qualify and there are restrictions on when you may
subsequently sell the vehicle. These reliefs are available to drivers with
disabilities and to passengers with disabilities.
You must qualify
for a Primary Medical Certificate. This is granted if you are severely and
permanently disabled and you:
- Are completely
or almost completely without the use of both legs
- Are completely
without the use of one of your legs and almost completely without the use
of the other leg to the extent that you are severely restricted as regards
movement in your legs
- Are without
both hands or both arms
- Are without one
or both legs
- Are completely
or almost completely without the use of both hands or arms and completely
or almost completely without the use of one leg
- Have the
medical condition of dwarfism and serious difficulties of movement of the
legs.
The available tax
reliefs are:
- Exemption or
refund of vehicle registration tax (VRT), repayment of value-added tax
(VAT) on the purchase of a vehicle and repayment of VAT on the cost of
adapting a vehicle, up to a maximum of €9,525 for a disabled driver and
€15,875 for a disabled passenger.
- repayment of
excise duty on fuel used up to a maximum of 2,728 litres (600 gallons) a
year
- Exemption from
annual motor tax
You apply to the
Health Services Executive for a Primary Medical Certificate. If you are
refused you may appeal to the:
Disabled Drivers
Medical Board of Appeal,
National Rehabilitation Hospital,
Rochestown Avenue,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co. Dublin.
Tel: (01) 235
5279.
You apply for the
tax reliefs to:
Central
Repayments Office,
Freepost,
Coolshannagh,
Monaghan
Tel: (047) 82800
Fax: (047) 82782
Disabled
Person's Parking Card
This card is
available to people with disabilities, either as drivers or passengers and to
registered blind people. This permit applies to the person with the disability
and not the car being driven. The card entitles the holder to park in public
car parking spaces free of charge. The scheme is administered by the Irish
Wheelchair Association and the Disabled Drivers' Association of Ireland. People
who have a Primary Medical Certificate automatically qualify but must apply.
Other people may get an application form from one of the two organisations
mentioned – this must be completed by their doctor and counter-signed by a
Garda. Where to reply:
Parking Card Section
The Disabled
Drivers Association
Ballindine
Mayo
IRELAND
Tel:+353
(0)94 64054
Fax:+353 (0)94 64336
http://www.ddai.ie
Further
Information
Further
information on motoring and on transport generally is available from:
Department of
Transport
Kildare St
Dublin 2
Tel (01) 670 7444
www.transport.ie