Disqualified NI drivers to be banned in Republic

A new initiative agreed at last week’s British-Irish Council meeting will ensure that drivers who are disqualified in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK will automatically be banned in the Republic.

The initiative which will take effect from next April was agreed following figures released that have shown that one in six of the drivers caught speeding in the Republic last year avoided penalty points because they were registered in Northern Ireland.

A new penalty point’s scheme, similar to the current UK and Northern Ireland scheme, is also in the pipeline but will not be introduced until later in 2008.

Although points will be awarded for offences from speeding to using a mobile phone whilst driving, as in Northern Ireland, different points will be allocated for these offences.

(SB)