Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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39. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason a person (details supplied) has to resit an exam passed earlier in 2020; the person or body that pays the cost of doing the course; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38963/20]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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This question relates to Brexit and Transport Manager Certificates of Professional Competence.

Under Regulation (EC) No. 1071/2009 a number of requirements must be satisfied in order to be eligible to hold a road transport operator licence, one of which is professional competence. In order to fulfil this requirement, every road transport undertaking must have a nominated Transport Manager to effectively and continuously manage its transport activities.

The Transport Manager must be the holder of a Certificate of Professional Competence (hereinafter referred to as "TM CPC") issued in the EU, in either Road Haulage or Road Passenger Transport depending on the nature of the operator's business.

As highlighted in the European Commission’s Notice of 19 January 2018 (updated on 13 July 2020) to Stakeholders in the Field of Road Transport (), after the end of the Brexit transition period, transport managers' certificates of professional competence issued by an authority of the United Kingdom or a body authorised by the United Kingdom will no longer be valid in the EU.

As part of the Government's Brexit preparations, my Department has carried out a review and has identified circa 200 individuals with a UK-issued TM CPC who are nominated as Transport Manager for Irish road transport operators. My officials have recently written to these Transport Managers and the relevant operators to ensure that they are aware of this position. The Department also carried out a similar communications exercise in October 2019 in preparation for the Brexit deadlines as they stood then, with letters issuing to relevant Transport Managers and operators at the time.

Operators affected are allowed a period of up to a maximum of six months in which to ensure that the professional competence requirement for their operator licence is once again satisfied, in accordance with Article 13 of Regulation (EC) 1071/2009.

Individuals who hold a UK-issued TM CPC and who wish to act as Transport Manager for a road transport operator based in the EU, including Ireland, must obtain a TM CPC issued by an EU Member State. Obtaining an Irish TM CPC requires passing the TM CPC examination administered by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). Candidates in this case will notbe required to undertake the training course of 100 hours that is normally mandatory before taking the examination. The next TM CPC examination will be held on 9 December 2020 and online registration with CILT for this examination closes on 25 November. The examination will next be offered in the first quarter of 2021. Candidates will be required to pay a fee of €285 to sit the examination and this includes provision of the training manual.

My Department will continue to liaise with the European Commission on this matter; however, the current position is as set out in the relevant EU legislation as above, and Irish Transport Managers and operators must ensure that they meet the relevant EU legislative requirements.