Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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1801. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the position regarding the conversion of Irish driver licences in British Columbia in Canada; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25645/16]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​For some time now the Road Safety Authority (RSA), as the body responsible for driver licensing nationally, has been engaging with the authorities in Canada with a view to reaching agreements on mutual exchange of driving licences.​

The process of reaching such agreements is a complex one, and involves detailed comparison of the two regimes by the driver licensing authorities on both sides in order to ensure that they are compatible. In Canada, driver licensing operates at provincial rather than national level.  

As a result, the RSA has been engaging with individual provinces.  A decision was made to prioritise agreement with Ontario, due to the large number of Irish residents there.  To date, agreement has been reached with Ontario, Manitoba and Newfoundland & Labrador. 

The RSA has advised that that they are currently making progress with British Columbia, but it is not possible at this point to specify when an agreement will be in place.