Vol. 412 No. 6
129 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for the Environment the reason it is necessary for holders of American driving licenses to have further driving tests carried out in this country; if he considers the American driving qualifications to be inferior to those applicable in the EC; if he further considers it appropriate that returned emigrants of many years accident free driving have to do a driving test in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Only licences issued by a member state of the European Community or by a state declared by the Minister for the Environment to be a "recognised state" for the purposes of the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations, 1989, may be exchanged for Irish licences without a driving test. Licences issued in the United States of America are not so recognised. Consideration is, however, being given to extending the "recognised state" designation to a number of additional countries. I cannot say at this point whether the United States will be included.
