141. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Transport his Department’s plans to streamline the process by which an Irish driving licence is issued following receipt of an Irish residence permit at the NDLS in order to reduce the current three-week timeline so that employees from overseas can enter the transport system workforce in a more timely manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40787/24]

The safety of all Irish road users is the priority in considering applications to exchange third country driving licences for Irish licences. Vigilance is needed when processing an application, to ensure a fraudulent document has not been submitted and that a driving test was passed in the country which issued the licence.

There are various factors involved in the time taken to process exchange applications, including the submission of outstanding documents and information, such as medical or eyesight reports, or the physical driving licence itself for an online application. The most common delay for the NDLS in processing applications is in verification by the foreign driving licence authority of the driving licence. At times a response is received very quickly but sometimes confirmation can take a considerable period.

The average processing time for the NDLS to exchange a third country licence is 30 days.