Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 18th February, 2022.

I, HILDEGARDE NAUGHTON, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 5 , 23 (2) and 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 (No. 24 of 1961) and section 2 of the Road Traffic Act 2006 (No. 23 of 2006) and the National Roads and Road Traffic (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2002 ( S.I. No. 298 of 2002 ) (as adapted by the Transport, Tourism and Sport (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2020 ( S.I. No. 351 of 2020 )) and the Transport (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2020 ( S.I. No. 759 of 2020 ), hereby make the following regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) (Amendment) Regulations 2022.

(2) These Regulations come into operation on the 21^st day of February 2022.

2. In these Regulations, “Principal Regulations” means the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 537 of 2006 ).

3. Regulation 10 of the Principal Regulations (amended by the deletion of paragraph (2) by the European Union (Licensing of Drivers) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 ( S.I. No. 52 of 2022 )) is amended by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (1) –

“(2) A driving licence shall, subject to paragraph (3), be granted –

(a) in the case of an applicant who is less than 65 years of age on the commencement day, for a licence to drive vehicles of category A, A1, A2, AM, B, BE or W, for the period of 10 years,

(b) in the case of an applicant who is less than 70 years of age on the commencement day, for a licence to drive vehicles of category C, CE, C1, C1E, D, DE, D1 or D1E, for the period of 5 years,

(c) where the application is for a licence to drive vehicles of category A, A1, A2, AM, B, BE or W, and the applicant is, on the commencement day –

(i) 65 years of age or more, but less than 72 years of age, for the period beginning on the commencement day and ending on the day before the applicant attains the age of 75 years, or

(ii) 72 years of age or more, for the period of 3 years, and

(d) where an application is for a licence to drive vehicles of category C, CE, C1, C1E, D, DE, D1 or D1E, and the applicant is, on the commencement day –

(i) 70 years of age or more, but less than 72 years of age, for the period beginning on the commencement day and ending on the day before the applicant attains the age of 75 years, or

(ii) 72 years of age or more, for the period of 3 years.”.

4. Regulation 41(1) of the Principal Regulations is amended by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (d):

“(d) the applicant is or will be 75 years of age or more on the commencement day, or will attain the age of 75 years within 3 months of the date of application,”.

GIVEN under my hand,

15 February 2022

HILDEGARDE NAUGHTON,

Minister of State at the Department of Transport

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations raise the age from 70 to 75 for the mandatory provision of a medical report when applying for a learner permit or driving licence.