All Irish driving instructors to face Garda vetting

Driving instructors may face Garda background checks from July under a new statutory regime being introduced this summer.

All existing instructors will be obliged to obtain a temporary permit to teach from July 1st and will have to successfully complete all stages of the new exam by the end of December 2008 if they wish to continue working in the sector.

Existing instructors can apply for a temporary permit from May 31st while they complete the registration process.

Chief executive of the Road Safety Authority (RSA) Noel Brett told The Irish Times that as part of the new Advanced Driving Instructors Registrar regime, all driving instructors will now have to make a declaration that they have not been convicted of a serious offence, or one that would cause that person's name to be on the sex offenders register.

They will also be required to consent to the RSA initiating background checks. Garda clearance of instructors is a key part of the new regulatory system and all registered driving instructors will be subject to full vetting by the Garda National Vetting Office.

The new system ends the decade-long anomaly which allows anyone work as an instructor, regardless of training or background. Mr Brett told The Irish Times all instructors would will be required to pass a three-part test, obtain Garda clearance, and show that their vehicle is roadworthy to become registered.

The test of an instructor's teaching ability will examine their knowledge of driving theory, driving skills and the ability to teach.

"The piece that is most difficult, and the piece that most people fail in the UK is part three, driving instruction and ability. We get people who are brilliant drivers or know all the theory but they can't explain it. An Irish third-level institution has won this tender and it is their job to train up five driver testers who will be regulating the instructor."

He declined to name the third-level institution that will train the RSA staff, saying that the tender details were being finalised.

Mr Brett said these RSA staff would be moved to a different part of the authority "so there will be no cross-contamination".

The training programme is going to be accredited by the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC).

The regulation of instructors will end the uncertainty surrounding driving schools. A voluntary Driving Instructor Register (DIR) was set up in 1996 but only two-thirds of the instructors are affiliated with this group.

Because this is not a statutory body, the Garda did not do background checks.

The new regulatory regime has been approved by the Minister for Transport Martin Cullen and copies of the new rules and requirements are currently being printed.

Driving instructors will have to pay for each stage of the new process. The expanded driver theory test will cost €150, the hour-long driving test will cost €200 and the test of teaching skills will cost €200. Instructors will then have to pay €250 to register. Instructors will have to renew their registration every two years.

Instructors who already hold a qualification, perhaps from the UK, may be able to register - subject to background checks - provided their training skills are shown to be equal or better than those required by the RSA.

At the launch of a consultation document on driving instructor regulation last year Mr Cullen said: "The days of just taking driving lessons from your mother, brother or relative on a quiet country road are over. People will have to take compulsory formal training."

Establishing a statutory register of instructors is the first step to make the taking of driving lessons with a professional a requirement, and this will form part of the new learner permit process which the Minister is due to publish within weeks.