Learner drivers who have had a car permit for four years will have to take a driving test before renewing their permit under new rules that aim to close an 11-year-old loophole in the law.
The regulations will, however, not come into effect until November 2026.
Minister of State Seán Canney, who has responsibility for road safety, signed regulations requiring the test, which for most learners is expected to be for their third permit.
He said the regulations are to ensure learner drivers can no longer repeatedly renew their learner permits without taking a driving test.
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Currently, learners can renew their permit multiple times, on a rolling basis, if they can show they have booked a driving test. In many cases, however, learners simply do not show up to take it.
Mr Canney said in a statement “a learner permit is not a driving licence. It permits people to drive on public roads accompanied by a qualified driver while learning to drive to gain the experience necessary to drive safely”.
As of September, almost 63,000 learners – more than 19 per cent of all learners – have renewed their car permit three or more times. “Of those 63,000 learners, 60 per cent, or 38,000, have never taken a driving test,” Minister of State Neale Richmond told the Dáil.
“Under this proposal, a learner, after holding a permit for four years, must take a practical test before renewing a permit,” said Mr Richmond. “For most learners, this will be for their third permit.”
He added that after seven years the learner will have to go through the entire process again, including the theory test, the 12 compulsory driver training lessons and the practical driving test.
Chair of the Oireachtas Transport Committee Michael Murphy, who raised the issue of multiple learner permit holders, said the Road Safety Authority (RSA) committed in 2014 to addressing the issue, but “we still have a situation where tens of thousands of drivers can legally stay on the road without ever proving they’re competent to drive”.
He said the RSA told the committee in June that draft regulations had been prepared and that it expected “implementation to be imminent”.
He added that some of the 63,000 learners have renewed their permits more than 20 times.
“The situation is deeply unfair to the majority of learners who do the right thing. Those who complete their lessons, prepare properly and take the test when they’re ready.”
The Tipperary South Fine Gael TD added that the growing number of “no shows” for driving tests also had to be tackled as “thousands of hours of testers’ time was lost because candidates simply didn’t turn up” and hundreds of extra tests could have been carried out.
Chair of Parc road safety campaign group Susan Gray welcomed the Minister’s signing of the regulations. However, she said “we will not rest until the loophole in the law is actually closed on November 1st, 2026″.
Ms Gray said since 2013, “the RSA have been promising to stop renewing permits to those who don’t bother turning up for their driving test appointments”.
She added: “To date this year, there have been 6,000 learner no-shows with no consequences.” Ms Gray urged the Minister to monitor RSA progress every month “because they have been procrastinating on this issue for 12 years”.
Fine Gael Dublin West TD Emer Currie, who has campaigned on road-safety issues, cautiously welcomed the timeline. She said the long-awaited step forward “comes amid tragic news that 148 people have already lost their lives on Irish roads this year, five more than the same time last year”.
