Vol. 417 No. 9
261 Mr. Crowley asked the Minister for the Environment the reason those returning from Japan with full driving licences are allowed to exchange them for full Irish driving licences; and whether legislation could be introduced to allow the same rule to apply to those returning from the United States.
Japan is a recognised state for the purposes of the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations, 1989 which provide that a valid driving licence issued by a recognised state may be exchanged for an Irish licence without the need to pass a driving test in this country. The question of declaring additional countries to be recognised states is being examined but I cannot say at this point whether the United States will be so recognised.
