Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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122. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to provide an update on current work underway to establish driving licence exchange agreements between the United States of America and Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51387/25]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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As Minister of State for International & Road Transport, Logistics, Rail & Ports, I wish to advise that Irish driver licensing operates within a framework of EU law - the driver licensing legislation with which all Member States must comply. The standards for testing drivers are set at EU level and, accordingly, EU driving licences are recognised and exchangeable when a person moves from one Member State to another.

Ireland may make bilateral driving licence exchange agreements with non-EU jurisdictions. This is not a straightforward matter. It is a technical and independent process that requires adherence to EU standards and the agreement of the other jurisdiction. Agreements may be made only when the authorities in each jurisdiction have compared the licensing regimes and are satisfied that standards for obtaining a licence are compatible. For Ireland, this task is undertaken by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

Reaching such an agreement is not a matter of political will. The core principle for Ireland is to ensure the continued safety of Irish road users and the most important element is that anyone who obtains an Irish licence has passed a driving test at a standard comparable to an Irish test.

One of the commitments of the Programme for Government 2025 is to “Work to facilitate the easier return to Ireland for emigrants, including reciprocal driving licence arrangements with the USA, Australia and Canada”. Ireland has a licence exchange agreement with Australia and with 7 of the 10 Canadian provinces, with a technical assessment of the licensing and testing system of Nova Scotia currently under way.

In light of the Programme for Government commitments and the time passed since the last consideration of a US agreement, it is timely to explore the possibility of entering into a driving licence exchange agreement with some US States. My Department, in this context, has directed the RSA to examine licence exchange agreements with suitable US states.