Michael McAleeranswers your questions
From K Fitzgerald:
I have moved to Ireland with my wife to see if she would like to live here. We have decided, after staying for six months, that we will move here permanently.
We own several cars and a motorbike. The bike and one of the cars we have owned in the UK for several years, and the other car we bought about six weeks before we initially came over.
All the vehicles have been taxed and insured at our UK home address and have been back and forth from London over the past few months. We now want to take up Irish residency and register the vehicles in Ireland. What advice can you give with regard to the VRT situation?
You will have no problems with the cars you have owned for several years, as you are not required to pay VRT on vehicles owned outside the state for over six months. However, you should be aware that you cannot sell these vehicles in Ireland for 12 months after they have been re-registered.
The car you bought six weeks ago will, however, incur VRT. It depends on the car, but perhaps it might be worth looking into the cost of re-registering it here or selling it before you move.
From PB:
With reference to last week's query from I Baker, who was moving to Ireland for two years and wondered about bringing a car over, I would refer him to SI 60/93 and in particular regulations 2 & 5 .
It may be the case that he can avail of temporary importation on two bases:
(1) that he returns regularly to the UK, particularly if he/she has a wife/husband who is perhaps remaining in the UK, and;
(2) Perhaps the Revenue Commissioners would exercise their discretion and extend the 12-month period as provided in Regulation 5.
Thanks for the advice. Again, such matters are at the discretion of the Revenue Commissioners, but valid cases are accepted on merit. He would need to be able to assure them that his work here is only for two years, and will not be extended and that he has an established base in the UK.
From F Sullivan:
You have previously recommended both the Daihatsu Charade and the Mercedes A-Class for their ease of entry. However, my wife and I have tested both, and while the Charade is roomy, it's not quite what we were looking for in terms of class and features. The Mercedes fits the bill, but the ride is very hard.
Any other ideas before we have to make the choice?
You might try the Ford C-Max. It's quite tall and therefore there's no significant bending when getting in, it's well equipped at the higher specification and it has more than enough room. It's also very good to drive. Similarly, I would recommend a Seat Altea if there is a dealer near you. It's not as nice as the Ford inside, but it's still quite spacious. Take these for a test before you make your final decision. My money would be on the Ford.
From H O'Brien:
We have just moved into a new apartment, and find that the council has just imposed parking fees for the street outside. Can they do this without talking to the residents?
Parking restrictions and fees fall under the remit of the local authorities, and they can decide what the rates are. However, they do have to consult with the Garda and give public notice. This is usually done through the local papers. It's at this stage that local residents should object and the councils are obliged to consider all of these.
It's likely to have happened before you moved in. Contact your council's local traffic division and find out when and where they made public their decision to introduce parking restrictions.
I am sure a serious lobby from local residents to both the local councillor and the traffic division may help. It's important, however, that all residents agree to challenge the restrictions.
From WQ:
I was overtaken by a coach on the N11 last week in a 100km/h speed limit zone. While I was doing about 90km/h, I always thought that buses had lower limits than cars on these roads. It's one thing to be overtaken by a speeding car, but it can be quite frightening to have a large coach on the outside running alongside your car on what is in parts a rather tight stretch of road.
There is a legal limit of 80km/h for coaches on national roads (100km/h on motorways) and if it overtook you on doing more than that, then it was breaking the law. This 80km/h limit applies to all vehicles that carry more than eight passengers - apart from the driver - and Irish coaches are required by law to be fitted with speed restrictors that keep them below 90km/h.
A similar limit applies to trucks over 3,500kg, but just like speeding cars, we have all come across trucks and coaches doing much more than the limit.
Speed limiters are legally required on these vehicles but there are two types, depending on the sort of journeys they do. For coaches that do short commuter runs, the limiter is supposed to be set at 85km/h, while on vehicles that do long-haul and international runs it is set at 100km/h.
Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, The Irish Times, Tara St, Dublin 2 or e-mail motorshelp@irish-times.ie