asked the Minister for Defence if he will make the necessary arrangements with the Department of Local Government to have driving licences issued by local authorities to members of the Defence Forces after the successful completion of the army driving test, if they so require.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Driving Licences.
33.
The question of exempting Army drivers from the necessity to undergo and pass the Department of Local Government driving test before qualifying for civilian driving licences is at present being considered in consultation with that Department. There are, however, certain difficulties involved.
Would the Minister say how extensive these inquiries are and if they are likely to be solved at an early stage? We have had cases where personnel, although qualified to drive Army vehicles here and in the Congo, were failed by the civilian testers when they returned to civilian life. Would the Minister ensure that these people are either qualified to drive or not?
In October, 1967, the then Minister for Defence directed that an examination should be made in consultation with the Department of Local Government of the possibility of working out an arrangement whereby Army drivers by virtue of their having passed the Army driving test would be exempt from the requirement of having to undergo the driving test conducted by that Department. Arising out of this direction, a proposal was put to the Department of Local Government in December, 1967, that Army drivers or ex-Army drivers who have passed the Army driving test should be exempt from having to undergo the civilian test to obtain a licence to drive privately-owned vehicles of the classes in respect of which they had passed the Army driving test. The matter was subsequently discussed between representatives of this Department and the Department of Local Government. The latter stated that when the driving tests were being introduced their Minister decided that there would be no exemption granted from the tests to any category. They said this was decided in order to ensure that there would be only one standard, the standard laid down by the Department of Local Government. Various bodies, apart from the Army, have their own instruction and testing arrangements, such as the Post Office, CIE and Messrs Guinness, and if an exception were made in one case it would, it was felt, open the door to application for similar concessions in other cases. Furthermore, if an exception were to be made, the Department of Local Government would have to take power to examine the testing procedures involved and keep them under constant surveillance to ensure that the required standards applied and were maintained. That was the position in 1967. I have now taken this matter up again with the Minister for Local Government and it is being re-examined.
Army drivers are issued with an Army driving licence and it appears now that there is some doubt as to their capacity to drive on the roads here. Surely the comprehensive transport schools in the Army, where drivers are trained and tested, are sufficient, particularly when the drivers are permitted to drive heavy Army vehicles on our roads.
I would be desirous that they would not be put to the civilian test when they leave the Army or when they are in the Army. I have informed the Deputy of what happened in 1967 and I am now trying to iron this out with my colleague. The Deputy's colleague, in 1967, Deputy Neil Blaney or former Deputy Kevin Boland, did not succeed in ironing it out.
(Dublin Central): I should like to ask the Minister to speed up this review because there is a terrible anomaly here. Quite often when qualified Army drivers go into civilian life they cannot take up employment driving vehicles because they do not hold a civilian driving licence.
I am dealing with the matter with my colleague as best I can but I should like to remind the House that in 1967 it was absolutely refused.