Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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181. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps that a person returning to Ireland must take to have their driving licence transferred back to an Irish one; if cases can be escalated based on needs for employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23186/26]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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183. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the work to improve US-Ireland drivers licence exchange agreement arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23193/26]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 181 and 183 together.

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 – and the standards for testing drivers are set at EU level. This ensures that all EU/EEA driving licence holders have been tested at a uniform standard and allows licences to be recognised for use across the region.

Someone who is resident in Ireland must hold an Irish or EU/EEA driving licence to drive here. A visitor to Ireland can use a non-EU/EEA licence during their visit, provided it is current and valid, but on taking up normal residence here they must exchange their licence or apply for an Irish licence.

Irish licences are, in general, granted for ten years. An Irish licence holder, if resident in Ireland, may renew their licence for up to ten years after expiry. After this period, the licence lapses and the holder must start the learning to drive process again.

A driving licence may be exchanged for an Irish licence where Ireland has a driving licence exchange agreement with the other jurisdiction. A person with a full but non-exchangeable licence must go through the normal driver learning process, but can avail of shorter Essential Driver Training of 6 lessons, instead of 12, and does not have to be a learner for the usual minimum of 6 months before taking a driving test.

Ireland may make bilateral licence exchange agreements with non-EU jurisdictions. This is a technical, road safety-based process and reaching an agreement is not a matter of political will. In considering whether to enter such an agreement, the authorities on each side compare the two licensing regimes and must be satisfied that they are compatible.

As licence exchange agreements protect public safety by ensuring that people licensed to drive on our roads have reached recognised standards, the most important element in reaching an agreement is that the other jurisdiction's licensing regime applies standards for obtaining a licence which are comparable with our own. Where these standards are not met, no agreement is possible, no matter how desirable an agreement with that jurisdiction may be. For Ireland, this task is carried out by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

US driver licensing operates at state, rather than federal, level. Accordingly, there are 50 licensing systems, with widely varying standards and road safety performance, many with levels of road fatalities significantly worse than most EU countries. Agreement with any one state would mean taking into account the exchange relationships between that state and the other 49.

In line with Programme for Government commitments regarding the easier return to Ireland for emigrants, the RSA has been directed to engage with the state licencing authorities for three US states. The assessment process for a possible licence exchange agreement is technical in nature between the licencing authorities and is necessarily independent of political involvement. This process is ongoing.