Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

581. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on making dashboard cameras mandatory in all motor vehicles. [12073/19]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The introduction of a mandatory component or separate technical unit for a new vehicle type would require an amendment to Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. This Directive established an approval system for all vehicles registered within the EU and it ensures that a vehicle must be manufactured in compliance with a wide range of safety standards before it can be placed on the market. This ‘type-approval’ system is regularly updated to account for improvements in safety standards and to allow advanced safety features to become mandatory requirements. Amendments to Directive 2007/46/EC are scrutinised, evaluated and voted upon by a number of different EU-level technical committees and working groups attended by representatives from the State.

The type-approval system is transposed into Irish law by S.I. No. 158 of 2009 – the European Communities (Road Vehicles: Type-Approval) Regulations 2009. These regulations have been amended several times to account for the continually improving safety standards that have become obligatory for vehicles in the European fleet.

Making the use of dash cameras a mandatory requirement for all existing vehicles in the national fleet is not considered to be a practical measure at present.