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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 3 Oct 2001

Vol. 541 No. 2

Written Answers. - Driving Tests.

Pat Carey

Ceist:

692 Mr. P. Carey asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government when the requirement that applicants for a motorcycle driving licence should sit a theory test was introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21465/01]

Noel Ahern

Ceist:

708 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will clarify the situation of persons who hold a full driving licence, some of whom have many years experience driving HGVs and emergency vehicles; if the full driving licence originally covered all categories of vehicles; if not, when these changes were made; if permission to drive certain vehicles was withdrawn from some individuals; the reason persons with years of experience who wish to drive a motorbike must undergo a theory test and a driving test; his views on whether this decision is rational; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that it is perceived as a revenue raising exercise; if he will amend the regulations accordingly; and his further views on whether motorists in Dublin should be encouraged to leave their cars at home and use a motorbike. [21753/01]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 692 and 708 together.

EU directives concerning the harmonisation of driver testing and licensing regimes in member states standardise the classification of vehicle categories for testing and licensing purposes and require that applicants for driving licences must pass a theoretical test and a driving test of skills and behaviour.

When the EU classification of licence categories was introduced in Ireland in 1989, driving licence holders maintained their existing entitlement to drive but under revised licence categories. Since then drivers wishing to obtain an additional category on their licence, to which they are not currently entitled, are required to pass the driving test, and now, the driver theory test.
Driver theory testing commenced on 11 June 2001 and applications for first provisional licences, in any licence category, made on or after that date, must be accompanied by a theory test certificate.
A driver theory test must also be successfully completed by any person who made application to a licensing authority for a first provisional licence, in any licence category, on or after 25 April 2001. As an interim measure from 25 April 2001 to 10 June 2001 applicants were, in the first instance, granted a provisional licence for a limited period of 90 days. On submission to the licensing authority of a theory test certificate for the appropriate licence category the validity period of the licence is extended for the balance of the period for which a provisional licence is normally granted.
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