Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 September 2013
141. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Finance the font styles that are permitted to be used on Irish car registration plates; the date on which the last review of such fonts was conducted by the relevant authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38267/13]
View answerI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that Statutory Instrument (S.I.) No. 318 of 1992, Vehicle Registration and Taxation Regulations (as amended by Statutory Instrument No. 542 of 2012) prescribes the format, lettering, dimensions and technical specifications of registration plates to be displayed on vehicles in the State. Font styles not conforming to the style displayed on the registration plate illustrative diagrams are not permitted. I am further informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the current formatting was adopted when Revenue took over the registration function on 1 January 1993. There have been a number of developments in the 20 years since, including the addition of a digit in 1999 to cater for the increase in the number of registrations, the increasing use of character recognition technology and, most recently, the addition of a digit to provide for two registration periods per year. However, none of these changes have had any effect on the font style and there are no plans to carry out a review. Further information may be obtained on the Revenue website at the following link: http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/leaflets/format-vehicle-registration-plates.html
