Eire number plates blitz
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• Irish drivers caught using number plates issued outside Eire face having their trucks impounded on the spot, stiff fines and possible jail sentences.
Revenue inspectors are stepping up patrols to hunt down vehicles carrying non-Irish registration plates—any truck imported into the Republic of Ireland has to be registered and issued with national number plates at a cost of £40.
A Revenue spokeswoman says: "There are always people who try and dodge laws like this. We will seize their vehicles and keep them in our lock-ups until the Vehicle Registration Tax is paid."
Officers will also impound vehicles if an owner has paid the tax but forgotten to change the plates.
More than 800 vehicles have been seized this year, 65 of which were trucks and vans.
Irish Road Haulage Association head Sheila McCabe says : "The vast majority of operators import vehicles legally and play it by the book. But there are always those who break the law so we welcome initiatives like this."