Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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222. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if online CPC courses will be offered for HGV drivers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30656/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Currently, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) does not facilitate on-line driver CPC training. EU Directive 2003/59/EC, which introduced driver CPC, was updated in 2018 by EU Directive 645 of 2018 and, while the amended Directive allows for the use of ICT tools such as e-learning and blended learning as part of CPC training, a substantial amount of the training is required to be completed in an approved driver CPC training centre.

The RSA believes that delivering some part of the training online is the way forward and it intends to consult with the industry, including all driver CPC training organisations, to establish how training can be enhanced and improved within the scope of the opportunities provided for in the EU legislation. It is hoped that this review will start later in 2021.