Written answers

Wednesday, 22 February 2017

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

International Driving Permits

Photo of Niall CollinsNiall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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234. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the process by which a holder of an international driver's licence can obtain an Irish licence. [8933/17]

Photo of Shane RossShane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​There are three ways for people with driving licences from outside this jurisdiction to obtain an Irish driving licence. Common to all cases is the fact that, under EU law, Member States may issue driving licences only to people normally resident on their territory. We cannot issue licences to people who have not taken up residence here.

The three cases are as follows. First, if a person is a holder of a driving licence issued by another EU Member State, then on taking up residence here they can exchange if for the Irish equivalent. Second, in the case of non-EU States we may reach bilateral agreements on exchange of driving licences. If a person with a driving licence from a State with which we have a bilateral agreement takes up residence here, they too may exchange their licence for an Irish one. Finally, if the person comes from a State with which we do not have an exchange arrangement, they are treated as a learner and must go through the driver learning process. They are not, however, required to wait the normal 6 months before applying for a driving test.

The International Driving Permit (IDP), as it is properly called, is not a driving licence as such. It is a translation of the person's national licence into an internationally recognised format. As such, possession of an IDP has no relevance to the question of exchange of a licence.

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