Written answers

Tuesday, 14 July 2020

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Driver Test

Photo of Darren O'RourkeDarren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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242. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if the requirement for US citizens and returning Irish emigrants to sit a theory test and take driver lessons and a driver test within one year of living here will be extended by four months due to the Covid-19 restrictions on driver tests and lessons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15514/20]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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It is possible to drive in Ireland on a foreign licence for up to a year under the Geneva Convention, but this only applies to visitors. A foreign licence holder who is resident in Ireland can exchange their licence for an Irish licence if there is a licence exchange agreement in place with the relevant country. Such a licence can be exchanged within one year of the expiry of the licence. This one year period is for exchange purposes only. Ireland does not have a licence exchange agreement with the US. It is illegal to drive in Ireland without a valid licence.

Ireland cannot extend the validity of a driving licence issued by another licensing authority. The validity of a driving licence issued by another EU Member State, that has been extended by that Member State due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will be recognised in Ireland.

Photo of Darren O'RourkeDarren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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243. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will consider introducing a reciprocal agreement with the United States of America on driver licences in view of the fact that the current requirements place an undue burden on Americans and returning Irish emigrants who are actively recruited to invest and work here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15515/20]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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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.

As such, all EU driving licences are exchangeable when a person moves from one Member State to another. In the case of non-EU jurisdictions, we may make bilateral agreements on licence exchange when the relevant authorities in each jurisdiction have studied and compared the two licensing regimes, so that each side can be satisfied that they are compatible and that licences can be exchanged without an adverse impact on road safety on one or other country, due to differing standards. On the Irish side, this task is undertaken by the Road Safety Authority (RSA). As the Deputy will recognise, it is essential that a country with whom we agree to exchange licences has a robust system in place. On the Irish side, this task is undertaken by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

The RSA has previously explored reaching an agreement on exchange with the USA. However, US driver licensing operates at State rather than federal level, meaning that there are 50 licensing systems with widely varying standards. Agreement with any one State would mean taking into account the exchange relations between that State and the other 49 States. In that regard, it is important to note that not only do systems and standards vary across states, but road safety records vary accordingly and indeed in many cases are more comparable to developing countries than, for example, other EU member states. The RSA therefore determined that agreement would not be possible, without undermining the safety of road users in Ireland and indeed across the EU.

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. This is a matter of public safety. While many may have a safe driving record, we have no way of measuring this.

At present, people with a full but non-exchange licence go through the normal driver learning process, but they can avail of the shorter Essential Driver Training of 6 lessons instead of the usual 12. Some lessons would be useful in helping people to adjust to Irish driving rules and conditions. They also do not have to wait the minimum of 6 months before taking a driving test.

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