Report of the Local Government Efficiency Review Group

detail in issuing licences. Motor tax offices are also required to record
disqualification of driver licences as a result of court orders. This involves a
country-wide check on the system before the licence is issued. For these
reasons it takes three times as long to process a driving licence application
compared to a motor tax renewal.
10.6.15 The Road Safety Authority proposes to replace the present paper driving
licences with plastic cards in 2012 in accordance with a 2006 EU Directive
(2006/126/EEC). This should also reduce the administrative workload
involved in the issuing of driver licences. At present, drivers in Ireland
applying to undertake the driver theory test must prove their identity and
provide proof of address. This process is repeated when the successful
candidate applies for his provisional licence, and again when applying for a
full drivers licence. With the introduction of a plastic card this information
can be captured and stored digitally once when applying to sit the theory
test. Subsequently when the individual passes his/her driving test, a full
driving licence can be issued using the same data.
10.6.16 The photograph should be renewed every 10 years to reflect changes in the
individual’s appearance (as with the current paper licence). Nevertheless,
the new system should create greater efficiencies, even if they involve startup
costs in developing and rolling out the new plastic card and associated
equipment.
10.6.17 The Group recommends increasing the cost of driving licences to more fully
reflect the costs incurred. A ten-year licence currently costs €25, which
compares favourably with the cost of a passport (€80). The cost of a first
licence in England and Northern Ireland costs £50 (or roughly €58), with the
cost of renewing the photo after ten years at £20 (roughly €23). For
example, the cost of a ten-year licence could be increased to €40. The cost
of a replacement licence could also be increased from the current €15 to
€30.
Recommendations:
10.6.18 In summary, an increase in the number of vehicles taxed online represents
a saving on the resources required to process transactions manually.
Therefore, the Group believes that the priority should be to bring more
transactions into the online system, and to incentivise greater use of online
payment.
10.6.19 Thus the Group recommends that:
• The online motor tax system be expanded to allow owners of
commercial and other vehicles to pay online;
• A handling fee of €10 be introduced to reflect the cost of processing
manual motor tax payments to reflect the additional costs involved and
encourage take-up of online motor tax service;
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