Written answer
Driver Licences
Ireland has no plans to negotiate a driving licence exchange agreement with the Philippines, as the RSA must first establish compatible licensing standards and is prioritising reviews with US states. Filipino licence holders must obtain an Irish licence but may use a shortened training and testing process.
247. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Transport the reason skilled workers from the Philippines cannot exchange their driving licences (details supplied). [64972/26]
Comment on this
Irish driver licensing law operates within a framework of EU law, which sets out the driver licensing legislation with which all Member States must comply. The format of driving licences, categories of vehicles, and the standards to be met in driving tests to qualify for a licence, are all set at EU level. Therefore, all EU issued licences are recognised in Member States.
Member States may also make bilateral agreements on licence exchange with non-EU jurisdictions. In reaching a bilateral agreement the most important element is ensuring that the other jurisdiction applies standards for obtaining a licence which are compatible with Ireland's. Where these standards are not met, no agreement is possible. For Ireland, the task of comparing the two licensing regimes falls to the Road Safety Authority (RSA).
Ireland has Licence Exchange Agreements in place with Australia, a number of Canadian provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Ontario, Saskatchewan), Moldova, Georgia, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle Of Man, Japan, Jersey, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
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 licence exchange agreements with Australia and with 7 of the 10 Canadian provinces, with a proposed agreement under way at present with Nova Scotia. Under the Programme for Government commitment, the RSA is currently engaging with the states of New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey, in order to undertake technical reviews with a view to recommending whether to enter into exchange agreements. Given the Programme for Government priority and the time and resources required to complete a technical review, there are currently no plans to consider a licence exchange agreement with the Philippines.
People with a non-exchangeable licence, who come to reside in Ireland, must obtain an Irish licence to drive here. However, a person with a full but non-exchangeable licence can avail of a shorter learning to drive process (6 Essential Driver Training lessons instead of 12 and no minimum period of 6 months before taking a driving test), in recognition of their previous driving experience.
Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for all aspects of the National Driver Testing Service. The latest information provided to me by the RSA indicates that, as of 22 August the national average waiting time for an invitation to book a driving test of 11.9 weeks. I am assured by the RSA that work is continuing to reduce waiting times in line with the target 10-week service level agreement.
The Deputy may wish to note that detailed statistics on the National Driver Testing Service, by county and test centre, are made available on the CSO website on a monthly basis and can be accessed via the following link: data.cso.ie/product/rsadts.