Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

This issue was raised earlier. I understand where the Deputy is coming from and as a result of this debate I will feed this idea back into what is going on with regard to the permit issue. We must be clear on two fronts, however. First, we are not suggesting that any category of people can go on to our roads without meeting any standards whatsoever, including medical standards. That would not be acceptable. Second, we have an EU-wide recognition of driving licences. In other words, there is an equalisation of the standard across Europe whereby driving licences are recognised. If we contemplated going some way down that road, we would have to bear in mind that it would not impact on our ability to have Irish driving licences recognised for people going on holidays and renting cars in an EU-wide scenario. Notwithstanding the Deputy's position, which has been well articulated, I am not in a position to accept the amendment at this point, but I will feed it back into the review that is currently under way.

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