asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism the circumstances under which cars may be bought in and subsequently imported from Northern Ireland.
Written Answers. - Car Importation from Northern Ireland.
365.
I assume that the Deputy is referring to State residents buying cars in Northern Ireland and subsequently seeking to import them. Under the present arrangements for the motor vehicle industry, the permanent importation of fully built-up motor vehicles is confined to persons registered under the Motor Vehicles (Registration of Importers) Act, 1968, i.e. those firms which have been engaged in the assembly or importation of motor vehicles under a franchise or corresponding arrangement.
While there is provision under the Act for the permanent importation of a motor vehicle by private individuals, in practice the grant of such facilities is confined to cases involving permanent change of residence to the State where the person has lived outside the State for a continuous period immediately prior to the transfer of residence and provided the vehicle is imported as part of personal possessions at the time the transfer takes place. Thus it is not possible, in normal circumstances, for an individual who is resident in the State to purchase a car in Northern Ireland and subsequently import it.
The present arrangements are due to terminate on 1 January 1985 in accordance with Protocol 7 of Ireland's Treaty of Accession to the European Communities. Thus, from that date, the present restriction on the importation of cars from Northern Ireland will end.
I would emphasise, however, that the ending of import restrictions is not directly related to the question of import duties and internal charges on motor vehicles which are a matter for the Minister for Finance. In this connection I would refer the Deputy to the reply given by the Minister for Finance to Dáil Question No. 309 on 24 November 1983 and also to the Minister's reference to the matter during the course of his Budget Statement to the House on 25 January 1984.