Cross-border points system 'months away'

A penalty points system which would operate the same on both sides of the border is still months from being agreed.

A driver from the North caught speeding in the Republic would be liable for penalty points, and a motorist who is disqualified in the North would not be able to get a licence here, and vice-versa, under the system.

Speaking after a meeting of the British/Irish Council in the Channel Islands, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said agreement was still some time off.