Private Number Plates for Irish Coaches

The Irish Coach Tourism and Transport Council (CTTC) has asked the government to change the vehicle licensing system in the Republic. It believes that the existing system puts coach operators at a commercial disadvantage to their counterparts in the North.

The CTTC said its members would be willing to pay a one off payment of €4,000 per bus if the government introduced private number-plates. The CTTC estimates that there are at least 1,000 coach touring vehicles in the country.

Gerry Mullins, chief executive of the CTTC, said that coach owners in the Republic were at a disadvantage ‘‘because the licensing system draws attention to the age of the vehicles’’. In the North, number-plates do not include the year of registration.

‘‘When tour operators have a choice between hiring a coach with an 08 number plate, or hiring one from the North with an M25093 registration, they often opt for the latter, even though it might be seven years older,” Mullins said.