Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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229. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the way in which it is practical to expect rural persons to be able to adhere to the law in terms of having to have a fully licensed driver present at all times if, for example, there is only one fully licensed driver in household and they are expected to undertake every car journey for that entire family. [53061/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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While I am fully sympathetic that the requirement to drive under the supervision of an experienced driver may be difficult in families where there is a single qualified driver, I must be very clear that it has been an offence for a learner to drive without appropriate supervision since 2007. This is an important life-saving law and there can be no excuses for breaking it.

A learner permit is not a driving licence, but a permit to be on the road for the purpose of learning to drive under the supervision of an appropriately qualified driver. The driving test sets out the minimum level of knowledge, skill and competency that a learner must demonstrate in order to become a fully licensed driver. Until a learner can meet this standard and pass this test they are not safe to take to our roads without appropriate supervision.