James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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191. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will make temporary changes to allow class D/DE licence holders to drive HGV type vehicles under class C to counter the current shortage of HGV drivers in the country. [48790/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The content of driving tests are set at European Union level and are set out in Directive 2006/126/EC. There are differences in the driving tests for trucks and buses and any changes to allow bus drivers to drive trucks, even on a temporary basis, would have to be made at European Union level.

It is not my intention to make changes to the driving licensing regulations to allow bus drivers (category D) to drive trucks (category C) without meeting the necessary requirements.