John Kelly (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I support the Bill. There is little one can contribute to this debate that has not been said already. Like Senator O'Neill I agree that the merger of two agencies which do similar jobs is a move in the right direction. I believe the NRA is doing a good job and will manage the merger well.

As is the norm in this House when we get a Minister in, we tend to deviate from the direct topic and raise a number of related issues. I have two particular issues which I would like to raise with the Minister, one of which I have raised with him before but on which he has not yet come back to me, namely, people aged over 70 who have never held a full driving licence. As the Minister is aware, people do not receive notification of expiry of their driving licences and, as such, they often forget to renew them. Currently, people aged over 70 who forget to renew their licence are required to undergo a theory test.