The number of licensed private cars on Irish roads rose by more than 7 per cent last year to 1,134,429 with more than a quarter from the greater Dublin area, according to a report published yesterday.
The Department of Environment and Local Government's annual bulletin of vehicle and driver statistics showed there were 1.43 million licensed vehicles in the State at December 31st, 1997, 80 per cent of which were private cars.
The report also showed:
153,100 new vehicles were licensed last year, a 14.3 per cent increase on 1996.
Licensed drivers totalled 1.85 million at the end of last year, 76 per cent holding full licences with the balance (24 per cent) holding provisional licences.
71 per cent of vehicles used petrol while 29 per cent operated on diesel.