Plans to introduce cross-border penalty points have been put on hold due to legal complexities.
Last year the Minister of Transport Leo Varadkar, and his Northern Ireland counterpart Alex Attwood, agreed to introduce a system whereby Southern motorists convicted of speeding, drunk driving, non-wearing of seatbelt or use of a mobile phone while behind the wheel would have the points recognised in Northern Ireland, and vice versa.
Recent changes to the penalty points system in Ireland, with points awarded for various offences being brought into line with those in the North, appeared to be paving the way for cross-border penalty points, but a spokesperson for the Department of the Environment has confirmed that the project has been 'paused'.
Planned to be in place by the end of this year, the project would have been the first of its kind in Europe and may have served as a template for other European Union nations, but the complexity of the legalities involved will see its implementation delayed while further investigations take place.
Sources from Minster Varadkar's office confirmed to the Irish Mail on Sunday that, while the project is temporarily shelved, it will still go ahead in time.
"Plans are still under way to proceed with the mutual recognition of penalty points."
"The Republic and Northern Ireland are the first two jurisdictions in the EU to undertake this proposal and it remains a key priority for governments on both sides of the border," said the spokesperson.