SEE UPDATE HERE FROM OCTOBER 2014.
SEE UPDATE HERE FROM JULY 2014.
Ontario, Manitoba and Newfoundland & Labrador set to recognise Irish licences
Fine Gael TD for Wicklow/East Carlow, Andrew Doyle, has said that significant progress has been made by Ireland in securing mutual recognition of Irish driving licences in three Canadian provinces. Deputy Doyle made his comments after receiving an update on negotiations from the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar TD, who informed him that agreements are at a concluding stage in Ontario, Manitoba and Newfoundland & Labrador.
“The introduction of new plastic driving licences in 2013 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, up to this point, Ireland and Canada have had no such agreement. Canada, unlike Ireland, has a decentralised driving licence system, with each State and territory having its own licensing system and Irish people living in Canada have found that some Canadian territories do not recognise their Irish licences.
“Over the past year or so, 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. Ontario in particular, which has a large Irish community in the city of Toronto, has been targeted for a mutual recognition agreement by Irish authorities. Detailed comparisons have been worked on for some time between the different driving licence systems and I’m delighted that agreements with Ontario, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador are nearing conclusion.
“Some provinces such as Alberta have relaxed restrictions on Irish licence holders, allowing Irish licence holders exemptions for their province’s graduated driving licence system. While the negotiations for the full acceptance of Irish driving licences in other Canadian provinces are still ongoing, I am hopefully that more progress can be achieved in other areas like Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut.
“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, but while this may take some time, I’m pleased to see Ireland has taken a lead in this for Irish people living in Canada. I will continue to work closely with Minister Varadkar to ensure that these Canadian negotiations in Ontario, Manitoba and Newfoundland & Labrador make it easier for Irish citizens living abroad to have their driving licences recognised.
See previous work on this issue here.