Frank Crowley
Question:124 Mr. Crowley asked the Minister for the Environment the plans, if any, he has to provide holders of full American driving licences with Irish licences when they return to Ireland. [7278/95]
Written Answers. - Driving Licence Exchange.
I have no plans to provide for the exchange of American driving licences for Irish licences. The USA is not a recognised state for driving licence exchange purposes because the driver testing regimes there do not meet the standards prescribed in the EU Directive on driving licences. Additionally, in most states of the USA, licences do not meet an essential EU requirement of distinguishing between drivers who passed their driving tests in vehicles with automatic transmission and drivers who qualified in vehicles with manual transmission.