Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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188. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 358 of 3 November 2020, if persons who obtained a manual driver licence in category B prior to 2013 and a manual driver licence in category C and C1 in 2014 and who also hold an automatic licence in category D and D1 may avail of the exemption provided for by the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) (Amendment) (No. 8) Regulations 2020 signed on 30 October 2020 transposing Directive (EU) 2020/612. [41051/20]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Regulations, which transposed Annex II, 5.1.3 of EU Directive 2006/126/ provides for an exemption that where a truck or bus driving test is taken in an automatic transmission vehicle but the person had earlier taken and passed a car or higher category (i.e. bus or truck) driving test in a manual transmission vehicle then the person is allowed to drive a truck or bus with a manual transmission system.

From 1 November 2020, when the Regulations came into effect, a driver can apply for a replacement licence without the automatic transmission restriction. A replacement licence costs €35. Alternatively, a driver can wait until their licence is due for renewal and the new licence will be issued without the restriction where applicable.