Drivers push to swap US licences for Irish ones amid test backlog

Irish Times

05-05-2025

Proposals that would allow people to swap their US or Canadian driver's licences for Irish licences without sitting a driving test have been hailed as 'pragmatic' by Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy.
A group of people who live in Ireland and hold North American licences have put forward a number of alternatives to sitting the driving test,
due to extensive waiting lists
.
Waiting times for driving tests have risen significantly, with some people
waiting up to 10 months
.
The group's alternatives to sitting the test include requiring these drivers to sit the theory test, requiring them to take 12 driving lessons (up from the current six), and ensuring they have maintained a clean driving record for at least three years.
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Gene Kearon, a dual American-Irish citizen, is leading the group's efforts. The 60-year-old was born in the US to Irish parents and spent part of his childhood in Wicklow. He relocated to Gorey last October.
The group has contacted a number of TDs with their proposals. In an email reply sent to Mr Kearon on April 14th, Ms Murphy described the suggestions as 'pragmatic' and said they aligned with the need to maintain road safety while 'reducing pressure' on the
Road Safety Authority
(RSA).
People who move to Ireland and hold a driving licence from countries including the US can drive on Irish roads for up to a year. After this 12-month period, people from certain countries (and certain regions in Canada) can exchange their licence for an Irish one. However, the US is not one of the countries so recognised.
Mr Kearon said he and others 'don't want to compromise Irish road safety', but that the current model does not make sense.
'You're telling me, I arrive on day one and I can drive unfettered throughout the country - why does that change on [day] 366? Wouldn't it be smarter to say, 'Okay, you can drive, but in order for us to give you that licence on day 366, you have to take the 12 lessons that everybody else takes'?'
Mr Kearon has started the process of applying for an Irish driver's licence but has been told it could be September before he can sit his test.
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Learner drivers face having to start again if they have more than four permits without passing a test
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His one-year grace period ends in October. If there is any delay, he could be without a licence, and unable to drive - something which could affect his job. Mr Kearon knows several people in a similar situation and said 'they're all desperate for a solution'.
He said he has been driving for four decades, without a road traffic incident, and believes he is 'unnecessarily taking a spot away from somebody else who's never driven before'.
There is a commitment in the Programme for Government to examine 'reciprocal driving licence arrangements with the USA, Australia and Canada'.
A spokesperson for the Department of Transport said Ireland has a licence exchange agreement with Australia and seven of the 10 Canadian provinces, but that reaching an agreement with the US is more complicated.
'US driver licensing operates at state, not federal, level. This means that there are 50 licensing systems, with widely varying testing standards and road safety performance.'
A spokesperson for the RSA added that 'agreement with any one state [in the US] would mean taking into account the licence-exchange arrangements between that state and the other 49″. As such, a blanket agreement 'would not be feasible'.