Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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208. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of persons resident in Ireland who hold a UK driver licence that have not exchanged their licence for an Irish licence ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28161/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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My Department and the Road Safety Authority (RSA) cannot state the exact number of people driving on a UK licence at any moment in time. There is no requirement or provision in law for EU member states to record the number of people driving in their territories on licences from other states, nor indeed would such be workable.

At the start of Brexit, the motor insurance industry provided estimated figures of UK licence holders resident in Ireland at between 50,000 and 70,000, based on their records. Since 2018, the RSA through the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) has exchanged 53,000 UK licences for Irish ones.

The NDLS are currently planning for demand for UK exchanges in the last quarter of 2020 in the region of 10,000 to 17,000. The RSA will commence a communication plan in the coming weeks that will include radio, social media and website messaging about the requirement for Irish resident UK licence holders to exchange their UK licences for an Irish licence.