Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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151. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will extend the motorbike initial basic training certificate to all persons who could not take their driver test due to restrictions and cancellations by the RSA. [42808/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Road Safety Authority and the Department of Transport announced a further extension to certificates for motorcycle Initial Basic Training (IBT), in order to take account of the impact of the pandemic.  

The extension is being made depending on when an IBT cert was issued, with three groupings as follows –

(a) an IBT certificate issued during the period beginning on 01 March 2018 and ending on 30 June 2018 is valid until 01 October 2021,

(b) an IBT certificate issued during the period beginning on 01 July 2018 and ending on 31 August 2018 is valid for a period of 3 years and 2 months from the date of issue, and

(c) an IBT certificate issued during the period beginning on 01 September 2018 and ending on 30 June 2019 is valid for a period of 3 years from the date of issue.  

By way of example:

If a person received an IBT cert on 19 of March 2018 it would have expired on 19 March 2020 but will now be valid until 1 October 2021;

If a person received an IBT cert on 15 July 2018 it would have expired on 15 July 2020 but will now be valid until 15 September 2021;

If a person received an IBT cert on 10 February 2019, it would have expired on 10 February 2021 but will now be valid until 10 February 2022.

No further extensions are being considered at this time.  

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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152. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will ensure asylum seekers are permitted to apply for a driver licence. [42809/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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In line with the Programme for Government, the Department is committed to providing access to the driving licence system to asylum seekers.

As Irish driving licence legislation is based on a framework of EU law, consideration must be given to the relevant EU Directives. While the legislative requirements are being examined, work is continuing on the administrative and technical solutions needed in conjunction with the Road Safety Authority and the Department of Justice to address the Programme for Government commitment.