S.I. No. 261/2026 - Road Traffic (Lighting of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 16th June, 2026.

I, SEÁN CANNEY, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 5 and 11 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 (No. 24 of 1961) and section 2 of the Road Traffic Act 2006 (No. 23 of 2006) (as adapted by the Transport, Tourism and Sport (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2020 ( S.I. No. 351 of 2020 )), and the Transport (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2025 ( S.I. No. 144 of 2025 ), hereby make the following regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Road Traffic (Lighting of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.

(2) These Regulations come into operation on 1 July 2026.

2. In these Regulations, “Principal Regulations” means the Road Traffic (Lighting of Vehicles) Regulations 1963 ( S.I. No. 189 of 1963 ).

3. Article 52 of the Principal Regulations is amended in paragraph 18 –

(a) in subparagraph (c)(vii), by the substitution of “products;” for “products.”, and

(b) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (c)(vii):

“(viii) by members of the Ordnance Corps of the Defence Forces whilst only under the escort of An Garda Síochána, provided the vehicle is marked as ‘Explosive Ordnance Disposal’ and, at the time it is used, is registered by the Minister for Defence under section 131 of the Finance Act 1992.”.

GIVEN under my hand,

10 June, 2026.

SEÁN CANNEY,

Minister of State at the Department of Transport.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

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

These regulations amend the Road Traffic (Lighting of Vehicles) Regulations 1963 ( S.I. No. 189 of 1963 ) to provide for the use of flashing blue lights by members of the Ordnance Corps of the Defence Forces whilst only under the escort of An Garda Síochána.