As the Deputy knows, saving lives by improving road behaviour is at the heart of the road safety measures that have been taken here and in the UK. In the past, it was possible for a driver who committed a serious road traffic offence in one jurisdiction and was detected and prosecuted, resulting in a driving disqualification, to return home and continue to drive without any recourse being available to apply that disqualification in his or her home country.
Arrangements for the mutual recognition of driving disqualifications between Ireland and the UK, based on the EU Convention on Driving Disqualifications and primary legislation in both jurisdictions, were in place from January 2010 to November 2014, with an average of 140 disqualifications being transferred between the two jurisdictions each year. Those arrangements changed for the reasons outlined by the Deputy. When they were in place, a driving disqualification received in the other jurisdiction was recognised in the driver’s home country or country of normal residence.
A new agreement between Ireland and the UK on the mutual recognition of driving disqualifications was signed on 30 October 2015. I am taking the first opportunity available to me - the road traffic Bill that was agreed by the Cabinet yesterday - to make provision for that in legislation. The drafting of the Bill has been completed and the Government approved it yesterday. My aim is to publish the Bill soon. I hope to have it published before the end of the year. While it will not be passed by the Oireachtas early in the new year, I assure Deputy Broughan that I aim to have it introduced in the Oireachtas in January so that its passage through these Houses may begin. I believe a number of measures in the Bill will make a prompt contribution to better road safety for 2016.
