Vol. 316 No. 4
asked the Minister for the Environment if he notified, informed, or sought advice from his EEC colleagues and from the commissioner responsible for transport, of his decision to provide the holders of a second provisional licence with a full driving licence without the requirement of passing a driving test.
392.
asked the Minister for the Environment when it is expected the EEC will introduce a common driving licence and if his recent decision to provide full licences without the requirement of passing a driving test would in any way inhibit the development of a common driving licence within the Community.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle I propose to take Questions Nos. 391 and 392 together.
The possibility of the harmonisation of driver licensing arrangements within member states of the EEC in respect of any particular category of vehicles, and the reciprocal recognition of such licences are issues for decision by the Council of Ministers of Transport, and I am not in a position to say when a decision on any of these matters may be taken. I do not anticipate that the recent exemption from driving test granted here should affect progress by the EEC in these matters and because of the limited and emergency nature of the measures I have taken in this regard, prior consultation with the Commission and the other member countries of the EEC did not arise. However, the Commission were made aware informally of the Regulations at an early date.
