Irish Language Committee calls on Minister to allow use of name Éire on vehicle registration plates

Committee Chair Catherine Connolly, TD said: “The current rules are based on Statutory Instrument 318 of 1992. At the moment, vehicle owners are prohibited from using the name Éire', the official name of the State, on their vehicle registration plates and are only permitted to use the initials 'IRL', an abbreviation of the name of the State in the English language.  

“Recently a case was brought to the Committee’s attention where the vehicle of a person in County Cork had been failed in the NCT test because the car plates displayed 'Éire' rather than the required 'IRL'.

“The Committee believes that in a bi-lingual State, citizens should be entitled to use the language of their choice in all contexts and that the State should facilitate this, rather than putting prohibitions in their way. Also, the visibility of 'Éire' on vehicles up and down the country would be a clear expression of support for the Irish language and its cultural identity.”