Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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80. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the excessive cost incurred by those learning to drive; his plans to address same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35496/20]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that there are costs involved in the process of learning to drive and obtaining a driving licence, most specifically in respect of insurance, test charges, and lesson fees. I believe, however, that these costs are not particularly high when measured against the cost of running a car in the long term. Nor is the cost of taking the driving test itself unreasonable when held against the considerable cost to the authorities concerned to provide the service.

As Minister for Transport I have no direct control over the fees charged by individual driving schools and instructors. Driving schools are private businesses and neither my Department nor the Road Safety Authority can dictate to driving schools on how they should run their business or set their fees.

Insurance companies are also private companies who enter into private contracts with their customers and I remind the Deputy that EU rules specifically prohibit member states from interfering in the terms and conditions offered by these companies. I understand that insurance companies use more than 50 criteria to price a policy, but different companies apply different weightings to the various criteria. I would encourage learner drivers to shop around to get the best deal for their particular circumstances. It has been brought to my attention, for example, that at least one insurance company offers learners a package of 6 months car insurance plus the 12 required lessons under a single price.