In a recent blog post Cartell.ie highlighted to Irish readers and motoring enthusiasts the significant development in England in June which introduced a new rule requiring off-the-road vehicles to be insured. Failure to do so now results in a criminal offence.

As part of our research for that blog Cartell contacted various interest groups in the country including the Road Safety Authority and the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland in order to gauge their interest in the introduction of an equivalent approach in Ireland. Generally speaking, while there was interest among all concerned, it appeared the consensus view was that there were no plans to introduce a similar regime here. That, however, may be set to change.

The Irish Times today consults those same interest groups among others to gauge reaction following an announcement by Minister for Transport, Dr. Varadkar, that Ireland may very well introduce the same regime. While there are some logistical hurdles which would need to be surmounted – particularly in relation to up-to-date records of vehicles which are off the road – it appears the Government is anxious to resolve the issue of insurance on off the road vehicles in-line with a series of measures aimed at keeping account of vehicles which are declared off-the-road but which are illegally in continuing use.

The centrepiece of the new Government initiative is a Garda Number Plate Recognition System which is currently being rolled out and which has been placed on a legislative footing since the introduction of the Road Traffic Act 2010. It’s the equivalent of the SORN system in the UK.

While Cartell recognises the logistical difficulties in setting up an Irish equivalent to the UK off-the-road system we are broadly in favour of this approach. We hope the Government continues to consider its options in this respect and any changes are phased-in when the technology is in place to accommodate the adjustments required.