Kildare Senator planning law to ban criminals using fake number plates
A senator is planning a new law to stop criminals using fake number plates on stolen cars.
Gardaí have claimed that roaming burglary gangs are increasingly using cloned number plates to stop them being tracked or identified.
If a getaway car has a false registration number and is caught on CCTV, it's very difficult for gardaí to trace the owner or occupants.
Senator Vincent P Martin of the Green Party has now drawn up draft laws to regulate individuals or companies who manufacture, sell or supply registration plates.
In the UK, anyone who buys replacement plates must first show photo ID and proof of ownership of the vehicle - but no such rules exist here.
Senator Martin's Transport (Vehicle Registration Plate Suppliers) Bill 2022 also calls for the Minister for Transport to set up a register of operators in this sector.
Under the draft legislation, a person who commits an offence under this Act is liable to a fine or a prison term of up to six months.
Senator Martin, who is set to introduce the draft bill in the Seanad in coming weeks said he has consulted widely with gardaí on the issue.
He said: "I have consulted with gardaí and other stakeholders in this area, including the Joint Policing Committee in Kildare.
"I plan to finalise the Bill and introduce it in the Seanad in the next few weeks.
"This will be the first step in the journey to it becoming law hopefully in the coming months".
Last April, a stolen high-powered Audi SQ5 that crashed in Naas after a garda chase was linked to 40 burglaries across the country.
Gardaí believe the vehicle was travelling on the motorway network with different false registration plates being placed on it.
The vehicle smashed into a roundabout and flipped over and five suspects were later arrested.
Many garda cars currently have Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology which can scan registration plates but they must first stop a vehicle to check the driver's documents against their database.