Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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76. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans the address the substantial issues faced by US driver licence holders seeking to secure an Irish driver licence upon return or relocation here; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this is a barrier for persons to secure work (details supplied); his plans to simplify the process; if so, the timeline for completion of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34242/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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A US driving licence is not recognised in Ireland as a valid driving licence for Irish residents. A visitorto Ireland can drive for up to a year on a US licence under the Geneva Convention.

Irish driver licensing law operates within a framework of EU law.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, Ireland may make bilateral agreements on licence exchange. However, Ireland does not have such an exchange agreement in place with the US.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has previously explored reaching agreement on exchange with the US. However, US driver licensing operates at state rather than federal level, meaning that there are 50 licensing systems with widely varying standards, which would have to be studied and compared between each jurisdiction. Agreement with any one state would mean taking into account the exchange relations between that state and the other 49. The RSA determined that such an agreement would not be possible. It may be noted that the road safety data for many US states are significantly worse than any EU state, let alone our record as one of Europe's leaders in road safety.

When people come to Ireland with a non-exchange licence, there is 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 individuals may consider that they have a safe driving record, there is no way of measuring this. Furthermore, there is no basis on which a driving licence issued by a given authority can be treated differently from another from the same authority.

While people with a full but non-exchange licence will have to go through the normal driver learning process, they can avail of the shorter Essential Driver Training of 6 lessons instead of the usual 12, and will not have to wait the usual minimum of 6 months before taking a driving test.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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77. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the delays for eye tests for those that require an eye test for a driving licence by county, in tabular form. [34361/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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It is a matter for a candidate for a driving licence to obtain an eye test from a suitable provider and present it to the NDLS as part of the application. The NDLS does not play a part in the provision of eye tests and neither I nor my Department has any role in this matter.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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78. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the position regarding the renewal of a driver licence in circumstances (details supplied). [34362/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I appreciate the difficulties you are experiencing. The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is responsible for the National Driving Licence Service (NDLS).

The RSA is working with their providers to see how they can create the additional capacity needed as quickly as possible, while adhering to the return to work protocol. Options being introduced include a combination of additional staff, extended and additional operating hours (i.e. Sundays where needed), and the provision of overtime. The NDLS booking system is undergoing software changes to cater for the expanded booking window associated with the additional NDLS appointment slots. The introduction of these steps may help ease some of the pressure on the NDLS, free up appointment slots and make it easier to find those slots at local centres.

Anyone can make a case that they are in urgent need of a driving licence can call NDLS customer service at 0761087880 or by emailing info@ndls.ie. and giving the reasons why they should get an earlier appointment. Appointments cannot be scheduled by the Department of Transport.