Ministers approve plans to phase in a single European Union driving licence.
There are currently 110 different driving licences issued by national and regional authorities across Europe. The European Commission publishes a book of photographs of these licences in order to help police forces across Europe. Ministers have now approved a single driving licence for the entire European Union.
The new driving licence will be plastic, credit card-sized and can carry a microchip containing details like penalty points and disqualifications. It will have clear benefits for law enforcement and road safety.
There'll only be one licence per person anywhere in Europe.
Drivers will only hold one valid licence for the whole of Europe. This will address the issues where drivers who have been banned on one licence but are still driving on another. Pat the Cope Gallagher, Minister for State at the Department of Transport, believes that the new system will allow Gardaí to know immediately the number of penalty points a driver has.
The Irish government plans to start issuing the new EU driving licences within the next six years.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 27 March 2006. The reporter is Sean Whelan.
