Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the publication of the report and the Minister of State's speech here today.

I will focus on one issue, namely driving licences and the amended requirements for returning emigrants. Over the past year, I have been contacted by quite a number of constituents. These are people who took their first driving tests and got their first driving licence in Ireland.

They would have driven here for five, ten or, in some cases, 20 years. On moving to the USA, particularly during the recession, they were able to get diving licences simply on the basis of a theory test and the presentation of clean Irish driving licences. Yet, on returning home, none of that history is taken into account. Even with the reduced six-lesson driving licence requirement, they still have to pay for the test, book lessons and obtain provisional and novice permits. These are people who may have been driving for 20, 30 or 40 years. I understand and accept absolutely the statement by the Minister, Deputy Ross, that we cannot have anything which compromises road safety. I am not arguing for anything which does, but I wonder if something can be done for those who had clean Irish driving licences and then had clean driving licences with no points or their equivalent from similar jurisdictions such as the USA. Can an additional system be put in place whereby those people might be required to do a theory test while having their clean driving history otherwise taken into account?

This is not just a question of money, although the amount involved is considerable. It is also a question of time, impact on employment opportunities and also one of recognition. If someone has a clean driving history, the idea that he or she needs to overcome those kinds of hurdles to drive officially here seems unfair. If someone here on a temporary visa can drive unrestricted for a period of 12 months, it seems an odd proposition. I ask the Minister of State not necessarily to answer these questions in detail today but, leaving aside the issue of state-to-state arrangements, surely something can be done to make it easier for a driver with a clean driving record here and abroad to be reintegrated into Irish society. I ask the Minister of State to look at the issue again and revert with additional proposals.

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