Driver Licences
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-21
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Noel Grealish (IND), Galway West

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir. I will bring what he raised to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy Canney. I think the Minister of State has responsibility for driving licences. Regrettably, we are seeing an increase in fatalities on our roads this year, and we must not relax the standards required of people in order that they can be awarded licences. Accordingly, we must ensure that anyone who obtains an Irish licence has passed a practical driving test to Irish standards. Where it is not possible to do so, an Irish licence cannot be issued. While those arriving from Ukraine were able to benefit from a measure put in place under the EU's temporary protection directive, no similar directive has been established in the current situation. When people come to Ireland with non-exchangeable licences, they are required to go through the process of obtaining Irish licences. While many may have a safe driving record, we have no way of measuring the standards of the driving test passed to obtain the licence. Road safety and keeping roads safe for all road users must always be the priority.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-21