S.I. No. 63/2026 - Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 (Commencement) Order 2026

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 27th February, 2026.

I, Seán Canney, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 1 (2) of the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 (No. 16 of 2023) and the Transport (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2025 ( S.I. No. 144 of 2025 ), hereby order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 (Commencement) Order 2026.

2. The 16th day of March 2026 is appointed as the day on which subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (a) of section 5 of the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 (No. 16 of 2023) shall come into operation.

GIVEN under my hand,

24 February, 2026.

SEÁN CANNEY,

Minister of State at the Department of Transport.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This not is not part of the instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

We are seeking to commence paragraph (a) of section 5 of the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 (No. 16 of 2023) in relation to future testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles on Irish roads. The introduction of autonomous vehicles on Irish roads is one of the recommendations of the current Irish Road Safety Strategy and Action 19 of the recent Government Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity is to develop a Connected and Autonomous Vehicles strategy and framework for the safe introduction of the use and testing of autonomous vehicles on Irish roads. In order for testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles to take place on Irish roads it is essential that section 5 of the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 be commenced to thereby allow for autonomous vehicles to be legally compliant.