Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

To follow up on the point made by Deputy Cullinane, many people are very angry at the idea that a green card will be required and they will have to hold on their vehicle an international insurance certificate to cross the Lifford Bridge. People are simply saying they will not do it and there is no way they will be required to have documentation to cross a bridge they have crossed every day of their lives in certain scenarios.

My insurance company emailed all of its policyholders about one and a half months ago telling us we needed to apply for a green card one month in advance of Brexit. I wanted to know what the process was and whether there would be a charge so I called the company to inform it that Brexit was one month away. I was told to call back in two weeks. When I pointed out that the company had emailed its customers telling us all to apply one month in advance of Brexit, the response was that the company did not really know what was happening. I replied that it should join the rest of us because we did not know what was happening either. However, it had told policyholders we needed a green card if we wanted to be insured while crossing the Border. I was told the company would issue green cards to all those who request them after 29 March when it knew better what the position was. I asked what would happen to me if I was driving in the North on 29 or 30 March as my car could be impounded and I could be in breach of the law. The company then took my name on the basis that it would try to get a green card out to me beforehand.

Most people in Donegal have very little awareness that this is the position and they are not applying for this insurance green card. One issue that aspect really annoys me, and one which the Tánaiste or Minister might bring some clarity, is that the website of the Motor Insurers Bureau, the authority in Britain that issues green cards, states clearly that a person does not need a green card for any European jurisdiction. That position will clearly change after Brexit. It also states that a green card is not required for Andorra, Serbia and Switzerland which are covered. As such, there are countries outside the European Union to which the green card does not apply. We have known for more than two years that Brexit will happen and we knew there was potential for a hard Brexit. For the life of me, I cannot understand why the issue of drivers being required to carry in their vehicles an international travel document was not resolved beforehand. This is a very serious issue and it works both ways. Telling people travelling from the Bogside to Buncrana that they need to carry such a document is anathema to them. They are not happy with it and they will not accept it. It is not right. This is an area on which the Government, particularly the line Department, should receive genuine criticism for not having its homework and preparations done. This issue should never have arisen given that we can see that drivers in other countries are exempt from the requirement to carry a green card. We are told this is an industry issue or a matter for the European Commission. Citizens of many other countries do not need to display the green card. Why the hell was the North of Ireland not part of that? We have been talking about the Good Friday Agreement and the Border in the Brexit context for the past two years.

Now, every motorist who crosses the Border will need to hold an international travel document. It is not acceptable, it is very poor and the Government must get its act together before 29 March.

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