Street Sweeper on UK plates ?

ondafly · 06-01-2007 10:01am #1

Just saw a street sweeper on my way to Blanchardstown this morning on UK plates : "AE53 OKA". It was on the main Castleknock road.

Is this a new thing now for Fingal CC ? Outsourcing work to the UK or VRT dodgeing

Wishbone Ash · 06-01-2007 11:46am

ondafly wrote:

Just saw a street sweeper on my way to Blanchardstown this morning on UK plates : "AE53 OKA".

Is this a new thing now for Fingal CC ? Outsourcing work to the UK or VRT dodgeing

Finance Act 1992

135.—A vehicle which is temporarily brought into the State may be exempted by the Commissioners from the requirement to be registered, in such manner and subject to such conditions, restrictions and limitations as the Minister may prescribe by regulations made by him under section 141 if the vehicle is—

( a ) brought into the State by a person established outside the State for his private or business use,

( b ) brought into the State solely for the purpose of a competition, exhibition, show, demonstration, or similar purpose and is not intended to be sold or offered for sale in the State and is intended to be taken out of the State on the fulfilment of such purpose, or

( c ) designed or specially adapted as professional equipment brought into the State by a person established outside the State for use exclusively by such person or under his personal supervision.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA9Y1992.html

In other words, if a company from the UK had a contract with FCC, they would be entitled to utilise their vehicles here without reregistering them. I'm open to correction on this. When the Dublin Port Tunnel was being constructed, there were many UK registered vehicles around there.

ondafly wrote:

VRT dodgeing

I'm not sure if a roadsweeper falls into VRT Category C or D? If it falls into Category C then a flat rate of €50 applies. If it falls into Category D, no tax is applicable. Hardly VRT dodging!

.

ondafly wrote:

Outsourcing work to the UK

AFAIK public bodies are legally required advertise for tenders for work within the entire EU. If a UK company wins the tender, there is nothing wrong with that. Plenty of Irish companies win contracts abroad.

Hagar · 06-01-2007 11:51am

Can such vehicles be legally driven by an Irish resident?
Remember the Circuit or Ireland Rally fiasco a few years ago where the Customs and Excise swooped on a UK registered car driven by an Irish resident. No links right now but I'll find one if pushed.

G Luxel · 07-01-2007 1:29pm

I saw some buses on trial here a few years ago here on english plates , brand new vehicles. But Bus Eireann didn't bother ordering any of them....

Silvera · 07-01-2007 8:36pm

How about the Army testing vehicles with no plates on them at all?!:D

Ok, I know that technically all Defence Force vehicles don't need any plates, but seeing as they usually do have plates, surely the Army should use some sort of 'trade plates' when testing new vehicles (as the British Army do).

New Army jeep being tested in Dublin last August.....

(N.B. It's not a Hummer. It's made by a Spanish company called URO. Kindof a Hummer look-a-like)

07-01-2007 11:19pm

ondafly wrote:

"AE53 OKA".

All the way from the east coast of England, somewhere near Ipswich, how long did it take to drive here.

colm_mcm · 07-01-2007 11:28pm

city centre Dublin is hardly the place to be testing an army jeep is it?

cast_iron · 07-01-2007 11:38pm

Hagar wrote:

No links right now but I'll find one if pushed.

**Shove** **Nudge**:)
Sounds interesting if you could locate it.

Hagar · 08-01-2007 2:47am

There you go.

1983 marked another milestone in the history of the Lakes, which had now become an International Rally and the Final round of the STP Tarmac Rally Championships. Suddenly out of the blue came a provisional entry for the 'retired' Billy Coleman in an Opel Ascona. Details began to emerge that the car was to be hired from Sydney Meeke and partly funded by STP and others. Con Murphy was entered as co-driver and all the paperwork was in order at the Friday scrutiny but one vital matter was still missing: there was no car! As the long hours of Friday night went by frantic phone calls revealed that customs officials had stopped the Meeke team at the border and were demanding a bond of ten thousand pounds in cash before the car could come south. Paddy O'Callaghan, the father figure of the motor trade in Munster heard of the demand and set about getting the cash together late on Friday night, long after all banks had closed up for the weekend. From filling stations, supermarkets and others the cash was collected, and following high level political intervention, the customs people, at four in the morning, relented and agreed that the cash could be delivered, not to the border post, but to the Customs at Cork Airport. And so the weary convoy, after fourteen hours at the border, moved on south, eventually reaching Killarney as the cars lined up for the start. The scrutineers examined the car as it stood in line to the start ramp while at the same time Sydney Meeke explained the location of the various switches and knobs to Coleman who had never seen the car before.

Full article here.