An Irish-American campaign group has welcomed the news that Ireland's Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien has written to Governor of New York Kathy Hochul regarding a reciprocal driver's licence exchange agreement.
Minister O'Brien, along with Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs, has written to Governor Hochul "to formally express Ireland’s interest in considering a reciprocal agreement on driving licence exchanges with New York State," a spokesperson for Ireland's Department of Transport told IrishCentral on Tuesday.
The spokesperson continued: "The Programme for Government commits to 'work to facilitate the easier return to Ireland for emigrants, including reciprocal driving licence arrangements with the USA, Australia and Canada.'
"The process is a technical independent process made only when the licencing authorities from both jurisdictions have studied and compared each other’s licencing regimes and are satisfied that they are compatible.
"For Ireland, this assessment is undertaken by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) under the direction of the Minister for Transport. The core principle underlying a licence exchange agreement is the continued safety of Irish road users.
"US driver licensing operates at state rather than federal level, meaning there are 50 licensing systems, with widely varying standards and road safety performance. Agreement with any one state would mean considering the licence exchange arrangements between that state and the other 49.
"The RSA is now looking at the possibility of entering into a driving licence exchange agreement with selected US states.
"New York was chosen as the first state for consideration because, according to data from the Department of Foreign Affairs, it is the state with the highest Irish-born population.
"The RSA can only make a recommendation to enter into an agreement if it is established that the licencing and testing regime in New York is comparable with those in place in Ireland."
Ireland-US driver's licence reciprocity
As it stands in Ireland, a driver cannot exchange their American driving licence for an Irish driving licence.
Ireland also requires proof of normal Irish residency - at least 185 days per year - to renew Irish driver's licences. With Irish driver's licences carrying a maximum ten-year term, many Irish emigrants are eventually prevented from renewing their licences after moving abroad.
As such, Americans moving to Ireland and Irish emigrants returning to Ireland must go through the full Irish driver licensing procedure to get an Irish driver's licence - even if they have a US driver's licence and or despite having been previously licenced in Ireland. In these instances, however, only six essential driver training (EDT) lessons are required instead of the usual 12 lessons.
(This procedure does not apply to US tourists - US citizens are permitted to drive in Ireland for the duration of a visit up to 12 months, but after that period would have to apply for an Irish licence.)
The issue of Irish-American driver’s licence reciprocity is not a new one; an Irish-American campaign group has petitioned the Irish Government to take action, while, as the spokesperson noted on Tuesday, Ireland's latest Programme for Government includes a commitment to work on the matter.
"A major stumbling block"
This week's formal expression of interest in a reciprocal exchange agreement has been welcomed by the US-Irish Drivers' Licence Exchange Campaign.
"We have worked very hard on this, and on other issues for Irish citizens who want to return to Ireland," the campaign told IrishCentral on Tuesday.
"We would like to see a driving licence reciprocal agreement reached between Ireland and many other US states as soon as possible.
"The driver's licence issue is a major stumbling block for people who return to Ireland, especially those with young families or living in rural Ireland. Many of those people have been driving in the United States for many years."
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