The Minister for Transport, Mr Séamus Brennan, has again qualified for a full driving licence.
The Minister, who sat his driving test last week, had the benefit of some of the best motoring tuition, courtesy of Ms Rosemary Smith, a former international rally driver.
The Minister had held a full driving licence for more than 25 years but allowed it to lapse after his appointment to a number of Cabinet posts, which gave him the use of a State car and Garda driver.
"The Minister does not drive privately himself but in the context of developing motoring policies he felt he should show a good example by going through the testing procedure himself," a spokesman for the Minister said.
The Minister also got a taste of the waiting list backlog for driving tests after he was forced to wait five-and-a-half months to sit the test after applying for it last March.
Fine Gael's transport spokesman, Mr Denis Naughten, said he hoped the long wait was a wake-up call for the Minister over the "deplorable" state of the driving test system.
"I'd love to know what he thinks of the whole process now. It's fine for the Minister, who has a Garda driver, but there are people waiting up to nine months for a test and whose jobs depend on having a licence," Mr Naughten said.
Mr Brennan was deprived of a State car and driver while in Opposition between 1994 and 1997, but was able to travel around by cycling or driving his motorbike through Dublin traffic.
It has emerged that the Minister sat his test last Monday after a series of lessons with Ms Smith, who represented Ireland in international rallies in the 1960s and 1970s.
He took 10 one-hour driving lessons over the summer with the former rally driver in preparation for the test.
A spokesman for the Minister also confirmed that new measures to reduce the number of drivers on provisional licenses as well legislation to set up a Driving Test Authority which will regulate all driving instructors will be introduced later in the year.
The Driving Test Authority will be independent of the Department but will implement its policy and be self-financing. It will be charged with putting standards in place that all driving instructors will have to meet before they can be formally registered.