Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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589. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to make vehicle trackers mandatory to ensure stolen vehicles can be recovered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29468/16]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​While the offence of taking a vehicle without the lawful authority of the owner is provided for in Road section 112 of the Traffic Act 1961, matters relating to the investigation and consequent recovery of stolen vehicles are a matter for An Garda Síochána.

European Regulations set out the Type Approval requirements for Member States to adopt, so that no Member State may impose any additional requirements that would present a barrier to the cross border trade in motor vehicles across the EU.

While such tracking devices are currently available for purchase by individual car owners for fitting to their vehicles, the choice to purchase and use such a device is entirely a matter for the individual citizen.

As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, my primary function in relation to road traffic is to promote and ensure that the most appropriate and best practice road safety and vehicle engineering safety standards are implemented, so that any potential road traffic collisions and consequent injuries and fatalities on Ireland's road network are reduced.

Given mine, and the Road Safety Authority's primary remit in promoting road safety, and the necessity to meet with EU Type Approval requirements in relation to vehicle standards, I have no proposals to introduce regulations mandating the fitting of vehicle tracking devices to track stolen vehicles.