Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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31. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views as to whether student nurses joining the front line against Covid-19 should be exempt from the six-month rule for sitting the driver test; if so, the steps he will take to implement the necessary changes needed; the timeframe to implement these changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35785/20]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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First-time learner permit holders must wait six months after the date of issue of their permit before they can sit their driving test. I will not be making any exceptions to this requirement.

As part of the learning process, the 6 month rule for first time permit holders is designed to give the learner driver the opportunity to gain the minimum level of knowledge, skill and competency that a learner must demonstrate in order to become a fully licenced driver. The more practice and experience a person gets, the better a driver they are likely to become.

Public safety is paramount, and never more so than in the case of our frontline workers, whether through infection or through death or injury on our roads. For this reason we must not relax the standards required of our drivers before being awarded a driving licence.