Vol. 456 No. 1
71 Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment the consideration, if any, he has given to granting an Irish driving licence to people who already hold a full United States of America driving licence and who are living permanently in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12906/95]
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.
