Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise with the Taoiseach the impending need for motorists who travel North-South and vice versa to have a green card post Brexit and a no-deal scenario. Many people, not least in my own constituency of Donegal and in other Border counties, are incredibly angry about this. The company with which I have motor insurance emailed all of its policyholders last month advising that we needed to apply for a green card if we plan to cross the Border or drive in Britain and that we needed to apply by the beginning of March. I wanted to know how the process worked and if there would be a charge for the green card so I telephoned the insurance company. I was to told to call back in a fortnight's time because they, just like the rest of us, did not know what was happening in regard to the green card process owing to the lack of certainty in regard to the outcome of Brexit. The insurance company told policyholders that it will start issuing green cards after 29 March, when it is hoped a decision will have be taken. I asked them what would happen to motorists on, say, 30 March who do not have a green card. As far as people are aware, their cars can be impounded if they travel at that time to the North without a green card. This is worrying for people. A huge number of people are unaware of the implications of not having a green card. People are angry that they will have to hold an international insurance certificate to travel across the Border. For example, people who travel across the Lifford Bridge into Strabane on a daily, if not, weekly basis will have to have an international insurance certificate. What annoys me, and most of the Irish public, is the fact that this matter has not been resolved heretofore.

According to the Motor Insurance Bureau in Britain, motorists do not need a green card for any European country, but obviously that will change post Brexit, and, more importantly, there a number of non-European countries in respect of which motorists do not need to have a green card, including Andorra, Serbia and Switzerland. This shows that countries outside of the European Union have in place arrangements under which a green card is not necessary. Given we have known for over two years that Brexit was going to happen, and given the sensitivities around the Border that have been at the cornerstone of our discussions in regard to Brexit, there are serious questions as to how the Minister, Deputy Ross, has allowed this situation to unfold, with hundreds of thousands of policyholders unaware of what is required in terms of a green card when we are just weeks away from a potential no-deal Brexit. This matter should have been dealt with by way of bilateral agreement between the Commission and the British authorities such that the North of Ireland would be exempt from this scenario.

What role has the Taoiseach or the Minister, Deputy Ross, played in ensuring that this issue was dealt with before 29 March? Will the Taoiseach commit to ensuring that it is dealt with before 29 March and what proposals or solutions does he intend to put in place before that date?

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