Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 May 2026
432. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Transport the countries/states that are currently being considered for addition to the list of designated recognised states for the purpose of driving licence exchange; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35258/26]
View answer433. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Transport if the state of New Jersey is currently being considered for addition to the list of designated recognised states for the purpose of driving licence exchange; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35259/26]
View answer434. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Transport the number of foreign driving licence exchange applications which were made by their country/state of origin, in each of the last five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35260/26]
View answer435. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Transport the average processing time for the exchange of foreign driving licences, broken down by licence category such as those from EU/EEA member states or recognised states; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35261/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 432, 433, 434 and 435 together.
As Minister of State for International & Road Transport, Logistics, Rail & Ports, I wish to advise that the Road Safety Authority (RSA) is the body responsible for examining the driving licensing and testing regimes of other jurisdictions in relation to considering driving licence exchange agreements. Six jurisdictions are currently under consideration for a possible licence exchange agreement with Ireland.
The Programme for Government contains commitments regarding the easier return to Ireland for emigrants, in particular considering licence exchange agreements with Australia, Canada and the USA. Ireland has agreements with Australia and with 7 of the 10 Canadian provinces.
Ireland does not currently have agreements with any US state. The Department is exploring options for individual US states, as US driver licensing is regulated at state, not federal, level. Three US states, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey have been chosen for consideration, given the size of their Irish-born populations. The RSA has contacted those licensing authorities to engage in a technical review of their driving licensing and testing frameworks. That process has commenced with New York and New Jersey
Outside the US, the RSA is engaging with three jurisdictions: Nova Scotia (a Canadian province), North Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. A licence exchange agreement with Moldova was reached in April 2026.
The technical assessment to prepare for a possible agreement is carried out by the RSA and its counterpart licencing authority. Owing to the technical nature of the review process, the RSA can only conduct a limited number of reviews at a time. As Minister, I cannot intervene in or review proceedings while they are ongoing.
The data requested is held by the Road Safety Authority and I have therefore referred these questions to the Authority. If the Deputy does not receive a response in ten days, please contact my office.
Irish licence exchange agreements
• Australia*
• Canada, British Columbia* (cars & motorbikes only)
• Canada, Manitoba* (cars & motorbikes only)
• Canada, New Brunswick* (cars & motorbikes only)
• Canada, Newfoundland & Labrador* (cars & motorbikes only)
• Canada, Ontario* (cars only)
• Canada, Saskatchewan* (cars & motorbikes only)
• Georgia
• Gibraltar
• Guernsey
• Isle Of Man
• Japan
• Jersey
• Moldova
• New Zealand* (cars & motorbikes only)
• Northern Ireland
• Republic of Korea
• South Africa
• Switzerland
• Taiwan (cars & motorbikes only)
• United Kingdom
* Australia, Canadian provinces and New Zealand: restricted to automatic transmission unless an applicant can prove they were tested in a manual transmission vehicle.
