Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 14:

In page 16, before section 13, to insert the following new section:

13.—(1) The Minister shall, as soon as may be practicable after the commencement of this Act, by order—

(a) put such structures in place as he or she deems necessary to ensure that the standard of driving in Ireland is maintained and improved,

(b) put such pre-conditions in place as he or she deems necessary, for candidates who wish to take the driving test, and such pre-conditions may include, inter alia, a requirement that candidates undergo a prescribed number of driving lessons before being allowed to sit the driving test.

(c) review and update the driving test and driver theory test so that—

(i) each examination conforms to international best practice,

(ii) the driver testing process reflects safe driving practices,

(iii) each examination has regard to persons who—

(I) are hearing impaired,

(II) do not speak Irish or English as defined by the Official Languages Act 2003,

(III) have literacy difficulties, or, in the case of the driver theory test, difficulty operating a computer, or

(IV) have a physical disability,

and

(d) a detailed report of the results of test, including all of the following:

(i) whether the candidate passed or failed the test;

(ii) where he or she made errors;

(iii) what areas the candidate could improve;

(iv) in the case of a candidate who has passed, what further actions he or she must take to obtain a licence; and

(v) in the case of a candidate who has failed, how he or she can reapply for the test,

is made available to each candidate.

(2) On a regular basis, the Minister shall cause a drivers' training manual, to be produced and updated, and such manual shall contain—

(a) the Rules of the Road,

(b) advice on safe driving, and

(c) such other information as he or she deems necessary and appropriate.".

The purpose of amendment No. 14 is to reform the driving test. Everybody agrees it should be reformed and there is much scope for so doing. There is no reason our driving test should not be as good as those elsewhere in the world. I ask the Minister of State to look seriously at this because we really need to reform the driving test.

Amendment No. 15 gives the Minister power to require motorcyclists and learner drivers to do a certain amount of tuition before they do a driving test, which is not the case at present. It is a natural requirement that motorcyclists and learner drivers do a certain amount of tuition. In some cases they receive tuition but in many others, they do not. Tuition should be mandatory.

Amendment No. 17 proposes to regulate driving instructors. At present there is no regulatory body or regulation in regard to driving instructors. Amendment No. 21 relates to driving testing regulation. I ask the Minister of State to accept these amendments.