Written answers

Tuesday, 10 July 2012

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Driving Licences

10:00 pm

Photo of Michelle MulherinMichelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 543: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to parliamentary Question No. 634 of 12 June 2012, the reason no grandfather rights are provided for persons with monocular vision in respect of group 2 licences which is at odds with the UK Driving and Vehicle Licensing Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33267/12]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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When EU legislation is being transposed into the national legislation of Member States, Member States occasionally choose to exercise their right to adopt more stringent requirements than are strictly necessary in order to comply with the EU legislation. In the case of the EU Directives on fitness to drive - 112 and 113 of 2009 - Ireland chose to follow the Directives closely, while the UK chose to adopt more stringent measures.

The Irish legislation states that applicants for a licence in Group 2 - categories C1, C, D1, D, EC1, EC, ED1, ED - who have monocular vision should have an adaptation period of at least six months before driving, and that afterwards driving is allowed only after a favourable opinion from vision experts.

In the UK, people with loss of vision in one eye are, with one important exception, barred from holding a Group 2 licence. The exception is the 'grandfather rights' to which the Deputy refers and relates solely to licence applicants for category C1. The UK allows people with monocular vision to apply for a C1 licence if they passed their driving test prior to 1 January 1997, but only if they satisfy eyesight tests for the remaining eye.

In other words, the UK authorities exercised their rights to adopt a stricter approach than was required to comply with the EU Directives, and then gave one exception to those strictures. As Ireland chose not to adopt such additional strictures, the question of 'grandfather rights' as an exception to additional strictures did not arise.

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