Up to 10,000 people living in the Republic and driving on a Northern Irish or UK licence have still not applied to exchange it.
Those holding these licences have been issued a final reminder by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to exchange their licence for an Irish one.
It comes as Northern Irish and UK licences will be rendered invalid on Irish roads from the end of the month in light of Brexit.
“They need to exchange it immediately, as their UK/Northern Ireland licence will not be valid to drive here after the 31st of December,” the RSA's Brian Farrell said.
“The mechanism that allows for European countries to exchange each other’s licences expires on the 31st of December.
“If you’re living in Ireland and you hold a UK or Northern Ireland licence, you will no longer be valid to drive on that licence after that date.”
Swap
More than 60,000 drivers have applied to swap their licence for an Irish one since 2019. However, Mr Farrell said thousands of people have yet to do so.
“We’ve had over 60,000 exchange applications from those individuals who are living here and hold a UK/Northern Ireland licence. From conversations that we’ve had with the insurance industry, there could be anything up to 70,000,” he said.
“So while it’s a guesstimate, we don’t have any hard numbers, there could be anything up to another 10,000 of such licence holders out there and they really need to get in and exchange those.”
Those affected can exchange their licence by visiting a National Driver Licence Service centre or by applying online.
