Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 December 2012
689. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the nature and outcomes of north-south cooperation in the area of enforcement of vehicle safety standards and current EU proposals with implications for the transport sector on the island. [54367/12]
View answerIssues relating to the nature and outcomes of enforcement of legislation relating to vehicles including co-operation between the authorities here and in Northern Ireland are matters for the Road Safety Authority and the Garda Síochána and I do not have a direct function in that regard.
I do understand, however, that there is excellent co-operation between the Road Safety Authority and relevant agencies in Northern Ireland in relation to vehicle safety standards. These include co-ordinated enforcement checks which are conducted on a regular basis to check the compliance of commercial vehicles and their drivers with roadworthiness and drivers hours obligations. In line with EU requirements, information is exchanged between the Road Safety Authority and the Northern Ireland Authorities where an operator from the other jurisdiction is found to be breaching roadworthiness or driving time requirements while operating in the State or Northern Ireland.
There are a number of EU proposals currently under discussion with implications for the transport sector on the island. These include proposals relating to roadworthiness of commercial vehicles, roadside inspection of commercial vehicles and tachographs. We expect that any new EU requirements will apply on both sides of the border and are not expected to impact on the current arrangements for North/South cooperation in relation to enforcement.
