Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 January 2016
941. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding driving licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1346/16]
View answerThe period of validity of a driving licence is set out in regulations. For a full licence, depending on the category, this is either five or ten years. Where the person is between 60 and 66 years of age, the licence is valid until their 70th birthday. Applicants aged 67 and over receive a three-year licence.
Licences were previously issued for the appropriate period plus the unexpired period remaining on the previous licence. In 2015 I changed the regulations to remove reference to the unexpired period of the previous licence. This was necessary because the European Commission informed me that Ireland was not compliant with EU law in regard to certain categories of licence, which had to be of a fixed period specified in EU law. Ireland was therefore required to remove reference to the unexpired period of the previous licence in some cases. I decided to eliminate this reference for all cases in order to avoid confusion.
