Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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451. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the way in which he plans to treat drivers with UK licences or licences that are approved by the UK (details supplied) in the event of a no-deal Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15242/19]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Irish driver licensing law operates within a framework of EU law. It is important to remember that driver licensing law exists to ensure that people licensed to drive on our roads meet high standards of safety. The standards for testing drivers are set at EU level.

An EU driving licence is exchangeable for an Irish driving licence, except where the licence issued by the other Member State was itself issued in exchange for a licence from a state that is not a Member State, or a state that Ireland does not have a licence exchange agreement with. For example, if a Zimbabwean licence was exchanged for a UK licence, that UK licence can not then be exchanged for an Irish licence, as Ireland does not have a driving licence exchange agreement with Zimbabwe.

When people come to Ireland with a non-exchange licence, we have no option but to require them to go through the process of obtaining an Irish licence. While they will have to go through the normal driver learning process, as they have a full but non-exchange licence they can avail of the shorter Essential Driver Training of 6 lessons instead of the usual 12, and they do not have to wait the usual minimum of 6 months before taking a driving test.