Minister for Transport Shane Ross has said it is not clear if motorists will be prosecuted for failing to carry 'proof of insurance' green cards while travelling in the UK and Northern Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Facing questions about Brexit preparedness at the Oireachtas Transport Committee this afternoon, Mr Ross was warned by committee chair Fergus O'Dowd that "complete chaos" could develop at the border the day after Brexit.
A number of committee members asked the minister for clarity around the requirements for motor insurance policyholders to carry green cards.
Mr Ross explained the UK currently comes within the ambit of the European Union motor insurance directive, which allows all motor vehicles from any member state to travel within the EU without carrying special documentation to prove that they have insurance.
He said: "If there is a no-deal Brexit, Irish-registered vehicles entering UK territory, including Northern Ireland, will be required to carry a green card, a document which proves that they have motor insurance.
"Likewise UK citizens wishing to take their UK registered motor vehicles into Ireland will also require a green card."
The Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) and the Irish motor insurance firms have been preparing for the possible issuing of green cards as part of the preparations for a no-deal Brexit.
Mr O'Dowd, a Fine Gael TD for Louth, asked if there is a crash out whether people need to have a green card the next day.
He stressed it was important that people in border counties are automatically issued with green cards.
Mr Ross warned that "not having a green card could lead to difficulties in proving that you are insured to drive".
Pressed further by Mr O'Dowd, Mr Ross said he did not know the answer to the question of whether motorists will be prosecuted for not having a green card.
Another Louth TD, Sinn Féin's Imelda Munster, also expressed reservations about the lack of information around green cards.
She said the 34,000 motorists who cross the border on a daily basis need to know well in advance what the requirements will be.
Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy questioned whether there will be prosecutions for not having a card.
Mr Ross said: "This is not all clear yet. You are quite right. It will be clear in due course. It is not clear yet whether people will be prosecuted or not. What we do know is that it is going to be required".
"Yes it will be mandatory for people to carry it in an other jurisdiction.
"There are 400,000 green cards being printed, which is an extraordinary large number and the insurance companies are going to carry out a campaign to let people know how to get them on demand. They will advertise. They will make sure in every possible way that people know what their rights are under.
"We are talking in a very short timescale and we have to do things very, very quickly."
Mr O'Dowd appealed again for clarity around whether the cards are mandatory and the legal position.
"For the public out there, if you had the wrong guy out there checking everybody at the border, you would have complete chaos," he said.
The minister said this was "not anticipated at all".
Later, Ms Munster pointed out: "We know that under EU law now that you need a green card and that if you were in an accident you are not insured."
She warned that unless the EU and the British and Irish governments step in to find some form of dispensation, motorists could find themselves driving without being insured in Northern Ireland and the UK if there is a no-deal Brexit in seven weeks.
Mr Ross indicated that his department has intervened in the matter.
