Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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339. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the anomaly within the system that allows Ukrainian nationals to drive in Ireland on their own Ukrainian motor insurance and that Ukrainian driving licences are not recognised by Irish insurance companies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21203/22]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I am aware that there has been some confusion over the legal status of Ukrainian people in Ireland using their Ukrainian driving licences, from both a licensing and insurance perspective.

Ukrainian drivers coming here as visitors would, in normal circumstances, be permitted to drive in Ireland for a fixed period, provided they have a Green Card as proof of insurance. These are far from normal circumstances.

Ukrainians arriving here under the Temporary Protection Directive have temporary residence status and cannot, as residents in Ireland, drive using their national licences. As Ireland has no licence exchange agreement with Ukraine and no mechanism to recognise Ukrainian licences, Ukrainians who wish to drive here would have to obtain an Irish licence through the normal process.

To address this, on 22 April my colleague Minister Ryan signed an order to allow Ukrainians temporarily resident here, because of the conflict in Ukraine, to exchange their Ukrainian licences for Irish licences. Such licences are valid for 12 months and will only apply to cars.

My officials are also engaged, at EU level, in discussions to develop a Europe-wide response to this issue. In addition, they are examining national options to allow an immediate response for situations involving the Temporary Protection Directive.

The insurance sector has indicated that it is taking a pragmatic approach and my officials have been advised that Ukrainian car insurance, accompanied by a valid green card, will be recognised. However, the issue of whether a company will insure a particular driver is a matter between those parties, in which I have no function. Ukrainian drivers should engage directly with insurance companies or brokers when they are seeking motor insurance.