Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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347. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if consideration has been given to allowing Irish residents to exchange their UK driver licences remotely ahead of the Brexit deadline in January 2021 in view of the Covid-19 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33415/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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If you hold a UK driving licence and are resident in Ireland, you should apply to exchange your UK licence for an Irish licence. While EU law will be applicable to the UK during the transition period, following the end of this period on 31 December 2020, UK driving licences will no longer be recognised as valid in Ireland. EU driving licences are mutually recognised and residents in Ireland with a UK licence are encouraged to exchange their licence well in advance of that date.

All applications for a driving licence must be made through the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) at . Under the Covid19 Level 5 Government restrictions, for the next six weeks, applicants can attend an appointment at a NDLS centre provided they are an essential worker involved in the provision of essential services or essential retail outlets. Details on what is included in the list of essential workers and retail outlets is available on .

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is continuing work to expand the online facility to accommodate all driving licence and learner permit application types. The NDLS hopes to allow all application types to apply online by mid-November.