Mr. Donal Enright:

Gardaí will not have a role under the new arrangements. A person will be at liberty to make the declaration themselves to the licensing authority, ultimately online. A person will not have to give a reason the car will be taken off the road. We recognise there are many reasons. I gave examples of reasons in my earlier contribution. No doubt, Deputies will know of a dozen more reasons. People will have an opportunity to make a declaration themselves. There will be no Garda checking. The person will not have to certify anything other than that he or she will be keeping the car off the road. The corollary is that should they then be caught driving a car having made a declaration that the car would be kept off the road, they will be liable for an additional penalty for having made a false declaration in addition to the penalty for driving an untaxed car. The facility will be available to people should their circumstances change, such as they are back in the country, their leg has healed quicker than anticipated, to enable them to get back on the road sooner. They can then tax the car from an immediate date without having to wait until the expiry of the off the road declaration.