Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in | ||
“Iris Oifigiúil” of 11th April, 2023. | ||
I, EAMON RYAN, Minister for Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 23 A (inserted by section 8 of the Road Traffic Act 2006 (No. 23 of 2006)) of the Road Traffic Act 1961 (No. 24 of 1961), hereby order as follows: | ||
1. This Order may be cited as the Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) (Australia) Order 2023. | ||
2. In this Order – | ||
“Act of 1961” means the Road Traffic Act 1961 (No. 24 of 1961); | ||
“Regulations of 2006” means the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 537 of 2006 ); | ||
“vehicle with automatic transmission” means a vehicle in which no clutch pedal (or lever operated manually for categories A, A1 or A2, within the meaning of Regulation 6 of the Regulations of 2006) is present. | ||
3. It is declared that a licence or permit permitting a person to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle, not being a licence or permit issued to a person to enable that person to learn or provisionally to drive such a vehicle, issued by a competent authority of Australia, is recognised for the purpose of exchange of that licence or permit for a driving licence, in respect of any one or more of the categories in respect of which the licence or permit is held that corresponds to a category mentioned in the Table to Regulation 6 of the Regulations of 2006. | ||
4. (1) A driving licence being granted in exchange for a licence or permit referred to in Article 3 shall only permit the person whose licence or permit is exchanged to drive a vehicle with automatic transmission in respect of any one or more of the categories referred to in Article 3. | ||
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), where the competent authority referred to in Article 3 confirms that the person exchanging the licence or permit concerned completed a test in a vehicle with manual transmission which demonstrates the necessary ability to drive a vehicle in respect of any one or more of the categories referred to in Article 3 to the satisfaction of the licensing authority (within the meaning of section 21 of the Act of 1961), the driving licence granted on exchange shall also permit the person to drive a vehicle with manual transmission in respect of, as the case may be, that category or those categories. | ||
(3) Paragraph (2) shall not apply where, subsequent to the test referred to in that paragraph, the competent authority referred to in Article 3 issued the person with a licence or permit which only permits that person to drive a vehicle with automatic transmission in the category or categories concerned. | ||
5. This Order does not apply to a licence or permit issued by Australia in exchange for a licence or permit issued by a state other than the State, another Member State or a state in respect of which an order under section 23A of the Act of 1961 applies. | ||
6. The Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences) Order 2007 ( S.I. No. 527 of 2007 ) is amended – | ||
(a) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (2) of Article 2: | ||
“(2) This Order does not apply to a licence or permit issued by a Member State (other than the State) or a state mentioned in the Schedule in exchange for a licence or permit issued by a state other than – | ||
(a) the State, | ||
(b) another Member State, | ||
(c) a state mentioned in the Schedule, or | ||
(d) any other state in respect of which an order under section 23A of the Act of 1961 applies.”, | ||
and | ||
(b) in the Schedule, by the deletion of “Australia”. | ||
| ||
GIVEN under my Official Seal, | ||
4 April, 2023. | ||
EAMON RYAN, | ||
Minister for Transport. | ||
EXPLANATORY NOTE | ||
(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.) | ||
This Order recognises Australian driving licences for driving licence exchange purposes under section 23A of the Road Traffic Act 1961 . An Irish driving licence granted in exchange under this Order will permit a person to drive a vehicle with automatic transmission only, unless it can be confirmed by the Australian authorities that the person completed and passed a driving test in a vehicle with manual transmission. |