Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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559. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to introduce changes to the driver licence exchange scheme to facilitate returning immigrants; the timescale in this regard; his further plans to enter into a driver licence exchange programme with the United States of America; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47889/18]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Following discussions with the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and with my colleague Minister Ciaran Cannon, Minister for the Diaspora, I decided that drivers with full licences from non-Exchange countries should be offered a reduced Essential Driver Training programme of only 6 lessons.  I am happy to say I have now signed into law the necessary regulations.  As there will need to be a lead-in time for the RSA and driving instructors, the new measures will come into effect from 21 January 2019.  

In relation to your query regarding a driver exchange agreement with the United States of America, as you are probably aware Irish driver licensing law operates within a framework of EU law, which sets common standards for driving tests across Europe.  As a result, all EU driving licences are interchangeable - if a person takes up residence here with a driving licence from another EU Member State, they may exchange it for the Irish equivalent.  

In the case of non-EU licences, we may reach bilateral agreements on exchange.  These are not a straightforward matter, and we cannot reach them with a particular jurisdiction merely because it is convenient.  Before any such agreement can be reached, the relevant authorities on each side must compare the two licensing regimes in detail, so that each may be satisfied that they are compatible.  On the Irish side this task is undertaken by the RSA.  

The RSA has examined the possibility of an exchange relationship for US driving licences.  However, as driver licensing within the US operates at state rather than federal level, there are 50 different systems, with sometimes widely varying standards.  Not only would it be necessary to reach 50 separate agreements, but each such agreement would have to take into account the exchange arrangements existing between that state and the other 49.  The RSA concluded that this would not be feasible.