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Roads Policing Message - Learner Permits & The Clancy Amendment

What your Learner Permit Allows you to do:

A learner permit allows you to drive on all public roads, except motorways, for the purposes of learning to drive and only when accompanied by an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) or someone who has held a valid driving licence in the same category for more than two years.  

It also means that you can take Essential Driver Training (EDT) with an ADI, but you must display L-plates at all times on any vehicle you drive.

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What you can't do with your learner permit

As a learner permit holder, you are not permitted to;

  • Drive on a motorway in any vehicle category  
  • Carry any passenger for reward 
  • Drive while towing a trailer if you hold a learner permit in vehicle categories B, C1, C, D1 or D (cars, buses and trucks)  
  • Carry a passenger if you hold a learner permit in vehicle categories A1, A2, A and AM (motorcycles or mopeds)  
  • Carry a passenger if you hold a learner permit in vehicle category W (work vehicles or land tractors) unless the vehicle is constructed to carry a passenger and the passenger holds a driving licence for a continuous period of two years. 

The Clancy Amendment

On 22nd December 2018, The Clancy Amendment was enacted to strengthen powers of the Gardaí to deal with drivers who contravene the conditions of their learner permit. The Clancy Amendment as it is known amended Section 41 of the Road Traffic Act 1994 to provide a power of seizure of a vehicle driven by a learner permit holder who is unaccompanied by a full licence holder. This Amendment was introduced after a campaign from Noel Clancy, whose wife and daughter were killed in a road traffic collision in December 2015 involving an unaccompanied learner permit holder.

As we approach the 5th anniversary of the amendment a total of 4708 vehicles have been seized from unaccompanied learner permit holders, and 8149 FCN’s have been issued for driving while unaccompanied.

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Driving While Unaccompanied and the Clancy Amendment

It is against the law for you to drive unaccompanied on a learner permit. Under the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) system in Ireland, a learner permit holder must be accompanied at all times by someone who has held a full, valid driving licence in the same category for a minimum of two years.

If you are convicted of driving unaccompanied or you allow your vehicle to be driven by an unaccompanied learner driver, the following penalties apply:

  • If you are an unaccompanied learner driver, you are liable to have your vehicle impounded and you face a fine of €160 and 2 penalty points
  • If you are an unaccompanied learner driver but not the vehicle owner, the vehicle is still impounded and the owner faces a prosecution and a fine of up to €1,000.

So far this year, there has been 11 Fatal Collisions (7%) and 66 Serious Injury Collisions (6%) which had at least one confirmed learner* driver.

(Learner drivers include both learner accompanied and learner unaccompanied drivers, but exclude motorcyclists)