On-the-spot renewals of driving licences axed

Motorists will shortly not be permitted to instantly renew driving licences in Cork due to new centralisation measures.

Cork County Council was one of the last local authorities in the country to offer on-the-spot renewals of licences, as most other councils deal with them through postal application.

County councillors reacted angrily that one of their most successful services will be axed as part of the new National Driver Licence Service.

From Jan 19, paper licences will be replaced with plastic versions and the fee for the 10-year licence will be increased from €25 to €55.

The new system is to be administered by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

From Jan 19 to the end of September, motorists can apply for licences at the council’s Motor Tax office but will not be able to obtain them instantly.

The council will forward the application to specialist card providers who will post back the licence to the customer.

After September, all licences will be processed centrally by the RSA.

The move comes on the back of an EU directive which aims to introduce new standardised ‘plastic’ licence cards across all member nations.

The EU says the plastic cards will have better security features and will reduce the likelihood of theft and fraud.

Ger Power, the council’s head of finance, said the service was unique as most others did not renew licences on-the-spot.

“We chose to retain the counter service. The staff [processing the licences] will be made available for other duties,” he said.

Cllr Danny Crowley (FF) said he wondered if the council really had to abide by the EU directive.

“The service given by our staff is second to none,” he said.