Motorists in Ireland may now legally use FM transmitter devices to play music from their MP3 players through their car stereo systems, communications regulator Comreg said today.
The low-power, short range devices are already widely used by motorists in conjunction with music players, although they have been technically illegal up to now.
It is expected they will now be available in electronics shops, whereas previously they could only be sourced abroad or over the Internet.
Comreg said in September the move was in line with other European countries. "This is being done on a pan-European basis. Some countries are slightly ahead and some slightly behind," a spokesman said.
The devices give out a low-powered radio transmission that is picked up on a defined frequency on the car's radio. They have been illegal to date because they technically breach rules governing radio broadcasting and were considered to be akin to mini-pirate radio stations.
Comreg said the move to legalise them was "in response to popular demand" and because there was no real danger of interference with radio frequencies.
Dixons in Dublin said recently it was getting about 10 enquiries a day about the devices and would sell them once they became legal.