“Slap in the face,” Mayo man calls on government for Irish driving licence rule change

Louisburgh native Ciarán Staunton has renewed calls for the Government to change Irish driving licence rules, which can leave emigrants returning from the US unable to renew an Irish licence that expired more than 10 years ago.

Mr Staunton, who is the co-chair of the Irish-US Driver’s Licence Exchange Campaign Committee, has criticised the Government’s decision not to change the current renewal requirements.

The campaign follows a June 17 meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, where TDs and Senators from across the political spectrum expressed support for allowing Irish citizens returning from abroad to renew long-expired Irish driving licences.

However, Minister of State for Transport Seán Canney did not commit to making the change.

A subsequent written parliamentary question from Sinn Féin TD Johnny Guirke asked whether the relevant legislation could be amended to allow renewal where a person holds a current driving licence from another country.

In his July 1 response, Minister Canney stated that there were “no plans at present to change licence renewal requirements for a particular group of drivers”.

Mr Staunton has described the response as disappointing and said the current rules are creating unnecessary difficulties for Irish emigrants returning home.

“There can be no misinterpretation of this statement,” he said. “This 'particular group of drivers' is Irish citizens of the diaspora. The Minister is refusing to change a piece of legislation that would support their return.”

The Irish-US Driver’s Licence Exchange Campaign Committee disputes claims that EU law prevents Ireland from making a change and points to the Netherlands, where the Road Traffic Authority has confirmed that a driving licence remains eligible for renewal even where it has expired for many years.

Mr Staunton said the current situation creates what the campaign considers to be an unfair disparity, with people from a number of countries able to exchange their foreign licences in Ireland while returning Irish emigrants with long-expired Irish licences can be required to begin the licensing process again.

The campaign is now calling on Tánaiste Simon Harris, Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien, Minister of State Neale Richmond and Taoiseach Micheál Martin to reconsider the issue or publicly explain why the legislation will not be changed.

The committee is also encouraging Irish emigrants and their families affected by the rules to contact their local TDs and share their experiences.

Mr Staunton said the campaign has been seeking a resolution for some time and is now calling for a clear response from the Government.