Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 June 2016
514. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if there is a protocol in place for British driving licences to be recognised in the State or if they will have to be replaced with European Union driving licences for the purpose of British citizens living and working here who still drive on their British driving licence and in the event of Britain leaving the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16690/16]
View answerThe EU sets common standards for driver licensing across all Member States. This means that all Member States observe the same standards for obtaining a driving licence, and issue licences in the same standard format. Under EU law, a person is required to obtain their driving licence from the Member State in which they are normally resident. They may drive on their national licence in other Member States. If they move from one Member State to another, they should exchange their licence for the equivalent licence in their new State of residence. UK driving licence holders may therefore drive in Ireland on their licences, and may exchange their licences for the Irish equivalent if taking up residence here.
Were the UK to leave the EU, any future arrangements would be a matter for negotiation between the EU and the UK in the first instance, and I cannot speculate on what might emerge in such a hypothetical scenario.
The Deputy may wish to know, however, that under international road traffic conventions, holders of foreign licences may drive in Ireland for up to a year on a visitor basis.
