Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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90. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the current process for transferring a UK driver licence to its Irish counterpart given that the Brexit transition period is finished; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3543/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Since 31 December 2020, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is no longer a Member State and so for a resident of Ireland a UK driving licence is not valid to drive here. Since 2019, holders of UK licences resident in Ireland had been encouraged to exchange their UK licences for an Irish one before 31 December 2020.

As the UK is now a third country, Ireland has entered into a licence exchange agreement with the UK to mutually recognise each jurisdiction’s licences for the purposes of exchange. This means that a UK licence can still be exchanged for an Irish licence under this new licence exchange agreement.

The requirement to exchange a licence only applies to people resident in Ireland and does not apply to or affect visitors or holiday makers in Ireland.

UK licence holders can apply online to exchange their licence, this is the fastest most convenient way to make an application. They must have a verified MyGovID account, which requires a Public Services Card, to apply online. Alternatively, they can apply in person at an National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) Centre by first booking an appointment. Currently, under level 5 restrictions, only essential workers can exchange their licence at an NDLS Centre. More information is available at www.ndls.ie