Ireland

Key points for young drivers:

• Left-hand traffic – you go round roundabouts clockwise.
• Motorway: 120 km/h, national roads 100, local roads only 60 km/h.
• Alcohol: 0.2 ‰ if you have held your licence for up to 2 years (professional drivers also 0.2 ‰).
• Phone only without holding it in your hand.
• M50 in Dublin: no barriers, pay by 20:00 the next day.

Seat belts and child seats

Everyone wears a seat belt – front and rear. Children travel in a child seat or on a booster seat suited to their height and weight (you only stop needing a child seat at about 150 cm in height or 36 kg).

Traffic lights

Order of the lights: green, amber, red. A green arrow lets you go in its direction even if the light next to it is red – but only if the road is clear. Flashing amber: you go if it is safe and give way to others.

Helmet not compulsory

• bicycle – helmet recommended but not mandatory
• tricycles and quadricycles (category B) – helmet strongly recommended, but not mandatory

Helmet compulsory

• motorcycle (also with a sidecar) – rider and passenger
• moped – rider and passenger

Compulsory equipment in the car

Official sources don’t give a list of mandatory equipment. The Irish government advises having in your car:

• a warning triangle
• a first-aid kit
• a fire extinguisher
• spare bulbs

Compulsory equipment on a bike

• bell
• white light at the front
• red light at the back

Helmet and high-visibility vest – recommended, not mandatory.

Winter tyres and snow chains

Winter tyres are not mandatory. Snow is rare, but in winter watch out for ice on rural roads.

Phone, drugs and other bans

• You must not hold your phone while driving. A hands-free kit is allowed, although the authorities don’t recommend it.
• Drugs: the police (Garda) and the medical bureau test for cannabinoids, opiates, amphetamines, cocaine and benzodiazepines, among others. What counts is whether you are fit to drive – also after prescription medicines.
• On the motorway you keep to the left lane, and the right lane is for overtaking. No reversing, no U-turns and no stopping on the hard shoulder (only in a breakdown).

Vignettes, tolls and low-emission zones

There are no vignettes. On some motorway sections you pay at toll plazas. The Dublin ring road M50 (between junctions 6 and 7) has no barriers – cameras read number plates and you pay online yourself by 20:00 the next day at eflow.ie.

Documents and insurance

• Your driving licence from an EU/EEA country is valid (Ireland is in the EU).
• Carry: your driving licence, vehicle registration certificate, insurance document and a valid roadworthiness test.
• You don’t need a Green Card – your third-party motor insurance is enough.

What to watch out for

• Left-hand traffic. You enter a roundabout to the left and give way to vehicles coming from the right. Take your first roundabouts very carefully.
• Limits are in km/h, but since 7 February 2025 the limit on local rural roads is only 60 km/h.
• There are no toll booths on the M50 – it’s easy to forget to pay.
• Alcohol: as a novice driver your limit is 0.2 ‰, so in practice you drink nothing.

Sources

• Your Europe – Road rules: Ireland
• RSA – Advice for tourists driving in Ireland
• Citizens Information – Speed limits in Ireland
• Citizens Information – Drink driving offences
• gov.ie – Driving in Ireland
• TII – M50 Barrier Free Tolling
• Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Odyseusz: Ireland (in Polish)
• Last updated: September 2026.