Sir, – Silly me. With decades of safe driving under my belt, I thought it would only take a few months to get an Irish driving license. It actually takes about a full year. In west Cork it takes about a two-month wait just to sit the computerised theory test. Since Ireland doesn’t accept the country that issued my current licence, I’m deemed incapable. (Mine is from Andorra, in between France and Spain; both accept its licences. I also hold an expired license from Ireland and the UK.)
Asking for any exemptions requires sending my driving licence to the National Driver Licence Service. A scanned or notorised copy is unacceptable so, since I need it to travel abroad, I can’t. My RSA-certified instructor thinks I would easily pass the Irish driving test. Nevertheless we both have to endure 12 driving lessons (¤600 and more time lost). The mandatory waiting period in order to even apply for a test is six months. The waiting period to actually be tested is, currently, another four months.
Ireland is not the easiest environment in which to drive; I respect that those allowed to do so need to be thoroughly tested. I’m grateful to be allowed to live here and my residency process has been a delight – other than the above frustrating anomaly. Can anything be done? – Yours, etc,
IAIN WOOLWARD,
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Cork.
Sir, – A céad míle fáilte to our returned diaspora. Ireland needs our skills, but we forgot to tell you, having completed six mandatory driving lessons and passed the theory test, there’s a wait of at least six-month wait before you’ll be notified of a possible date to take an Irish driving test, essential to obtain an Irish licence to replace your American one, which is not valid after a year.
So you can’t buy a car to commute to your new job, an hour and half distance, with no direct public transport. Perhaps the authorities could suggest a solution. – Yours, etc,
VAL SMITH,
Sandycove,
Co Dublin.