SEE UPDATE HERE FROM OCTOBER 2014.
SEE UPDATE HERE FROM JULY 2014.
SEE UPDATE HERE FROM FEBRUARY 2014.
Fine Gael TD for Wicklow, Andrew Doyle, has today (Thursday) said that progress has been made by Ireland in securing mutual recognition of Irish driving licences within various provinces in Canada. Deputy Doyle said that particular provinces are being targeted for mutual recognition agreements by Irish authorities, as many of them have large Irish communities.
“With the introduction of new plastic driving licences earlier this year, it has made Irish licences more acceptable and credible around the world. Driving licences in Ireland now operate under the auspices of EU law and allow for the mutual recognition of driving licences throughout each of the 28 Member States. However, this does not apply worldwide.
“Driving licence recognition agreements are already in place between Ireland and the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Switzerland, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. However, Ireland and Canada have no such agreement. Canada, unlike Ireland, has a decentralised driving licence system, with each province and territory having its own licensing system. Irish people living in Canada are now finding that some Canadian territories are not recognising their Irish licences.
“In recent months, the Road Safety Authority in Ireland, working alongside the Irish Embassy in Ottawa, has been actively engaging with provincial authorities in Canada to see if compatible licensing systems can be found between the Canadian provinces and Ireland. The hope is that an agreement can be reached to set up a reciprocal recognition scheme between the jurisdictions.
“A detailed comparison is currently underway between the Irish driving licence system and the province of Ontario. Negotiations are also in progress with Newfoundland, Manitoba and the Labrador provinces. Alberta has recently relaxed restrictions on Irish licence holders, allowing them exemptions for their province’s graduated driving licence system. While the negotiations for the full acceptance of Irish driving licences in these Canadian provinces are still ongoing, I am hopefully that an agreement of mutual recognition can be achieved.
“I would like to commend the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar TD, for his work on these negotiations to date. I know other discussions are taking place at European level at the moment in order to expand the mutual recognition of EU driving licences to other non-EU countries throughout the world.
“I will continue to work closely with the Minister to ensure that these Canadian negotiations make it easier for Irish citizens living abroad to have their driving licences recognised.”
SEE UPDATE HERE FROM FEBRUARY 2014.