134. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Transport his views on the absence of reciprocal driving licensing agreements between Ireland, America and Canada; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31999/26]

136. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Transport the position regarding any work ongoing that seeks to create a reciprocal driving licensing agreement between Ireland, America and Canada; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32001/26]

148. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Transport when he plans to introduce a reciprocal driving licence exchange agreement between Ireland and the United States of America, Australia and Canada; the timeline for when such an agreement is expected to be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32179/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 134, 136 and 148 together.

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”.

Please note 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. Driver licensing laws are intended to ensure drivers on our roads meet high safety standards.

Ireland may make bilateral licence exchange agreements with non-EU jurisdictions. This is a technical, road safety-based process and reaching an exchange agreement is not a matter of political will. The technical assessment is an independent process that requires the agreement of the other jurisdiction and agreements are made only when both licencing authorities have compared the licencing regimes and are satisfied that they are compatible.

Ireland currently has driving licence exchange agreements with Australia and 7 of the 10 provinces of Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan). The RSA, the body responsible for examining the licensing and testing standards of other jurisdictions, is currently examining the licensing and testing regime of Nova Scotia. The RSA issued communication to the two remaining Canadian provinces; Prince Edward Island and Quebec to request engagement with a view to enter into a possible bilateral agreement but no details have been provided to the RSA to date to enable a technical assessment to proceed.

Ireland does not have a licence exchange agreement with the USA. US driver licensing operates at state rather than federal level, meaning there are 50 licensing systems with widely varying standards and road safety performance. Agreement with any one state would mean taking into account the licence exchange arrangements between that state and the other 49. Any potential agreements with individual US states would need to be considered in the context of both inter-state exchange arrangements and the safety of Irish road users.

In line with Programme for Government commitments regarding the easier return to Ireland for emigrants, I have directed the RSA to engage with the state licencing authorities for three US states - New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. The assessment process for a possible licence exchange agreement is technical in nature between the licencing authorities and this process is ongoing at present. Once the review process is complete, the RSA will make a recommendation to my Department.

It should also be noted that the new EU Driving Licence Directive 2025/2205 allows the European Commission to enter into EU-wide Licence Exchange Agreements on behalf of member states. This process is expected to commence by 2029 and will provide an alternative pathway to pursuing licence exchange agreements.