Legislation

The European Communities (Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment) Regulations 2011, as amended, apply to the transport of dangerous goods by road in tanks, in bulk and in packages. This includes the consignment, packing, loading, filling and unloading of the dangerous goods in relation to their carriage. They apply the provisions contained in the technical Annexes to the "Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road" (ADR).

The Regulations and the ADR place duties on the various participants associated with the transport by road of dangerous goods. They contain requirements for the vehicles, tanks, tank containers, receptacles and packages containing dangerous goods during transport. The regulations require that the drivers, and others, involved in the transport of the dangerous goods by road, are adequately trained. The Regulations also contain provisions relating to the EU harmonised approach to road checks.

The 2023 Regulations have now been published:

Note that an administrative consolidation of all of the regulations from 2011 to 2023 is available.  The consolidated version of the regulations was prepared by the Health and Safety Authority for ease of reference only and is not a legal document. 

These consolidated regulations serve to consolidate the regulations of 2011 (SI 349 of 2011) and all of the amendment regulations from 2011 to 2023, as provided above and in the following list:

Download the Legislation

Full legislation is available on IrishStatuteBook.ie, the website of the Office of the Attorney General. Note the year and number of the relevant Act or S.I. before clicking on the link.


ADR Competent Authorities

  • Road Safety Authority (RSA) for technical examination of vehicles and issuing of certificates of approval
  • National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) for the testing of receptacles and tanks
  • Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) for accreditation of inspection bodies
  • Minister for Justice and Equality for all matters relating to the carriage by road of explosives of ADR Class 1
  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for all matters relating to the carriage by road of radioactive materials of ADR Class 7
  • National Roads Authority (NRA), or 'Transport Infrastructure Ireland', for matters relating to the classification of tunnels as required
  • Health and Safety Authority (HSA) for all other functions required to be performed by a competent authority under the Regulations