No more tax discs? New laws will end need for dreaded circular scraps of paper

The Government has given the green light for drafting of two pieces of legislation aimed at improving road safety and vehicle data management.

Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, and Minister of State for Transport, James Lawless, welcomed the decision to formally draft both the Roads Bill 2024, and the National Vehicle and Driver File Bill 2024. 

The Roads Bill 2024 will allow local authorities to access and use road collision data from the RSA and gardaí.

This information will help target investments and infrastructure improvements in areas prone to accidents, supporting the Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030. This aims to reduce road fatalities by 50% by 2030 and achieve no deaths or serious injuries on roads by 2050.

The NVDF Bill 2024 will also abolish the need to display a motor tax disc.

Since gardaí already have digital access to motor tax information, this move will remove the need for tax discs. The bill will also remove the end date for non-use declarations of vehicles, and make technical corrections to existing laws.

Minister Ryan stressed the importance of collision data for reducing road fatalities: "This data will enable local authorities to target areas with high accident rates and invest accordingly. It’s a crucial step in our ongoing efforts to make roads safer," he said.

Minister Lawless highlighted the benefits of the NVDF Bill: "Abolishing the motor tax disc is a natural progression towards a more efficient, paperless system. It will make life easier for motorists and improve overall outcomes."