Red light: Georgia blocks licence path for Irish learner drivers
A process allowing Irish residents to fast-track obtaining Irish driving licences by travelling to Georgia has been closed.
Georgian officials at the Ministry for Internal Affairs told Prime Time that new legislation has come into effect in the last week, requiring any new applicants for a Georgian driving licence to have been resident in the country for a minimum of 180 days.
A memorandum of understanding signed between Ireland and Georgia last year had meant that a driving licence obtained in Georgia could be exchanged for an Irish licence and vice versa.
Competent drivers can pass their tests in Georgia and receive a licence in a week or two. The country's fast and efficient driving test process has drawn applicants from across Ireland and countries in mainland Europe.
As of 31 May, the national average waiting time for a driving test in Ireland stands at 20.6 weeks — a slight improvement from the 27-week average recorded at the end of April, according to the Road Safety Authority (RSA).
Last week, Prime Time travelled to a driving school in the city of Rustavi, around 30km from Tbilisi, Georgia's capital. The school specialises in preparing foreigners to pass their driving tests.
There, Mika Vincheuski, a Belarusian living in Georgia, spoke of how he facilitates driving lessons and arranges test dates for non-Georgians who want to get their licence quickly.
He said numerous Irish people had been to through the process with him over the last year, and obtained their Georgian licence for exchange back in Ireland.
"We're supporting foreigners in getting a driving licence here. It's a fully legal process where people arrive to Georgia and they go through the examination; they prepare for the exams," he said.
"They need to know very well how to drive. But we guide them through the whole process so that they don't have to handle Georgian bureaucracy and figure it out all by themselves," he added.
Mika has used social media to promote his business. Prime Time met several Irish people at the driving school on the day of filming attracted by Instagram adverts, each at different stages of obtaining their licences.
One Irishwoman, Laura, had already passed her Georgian exam and received her motorcycle licence.
Once back in Ireland, she can exchange it for the Irish equivalent in a process that will take just a couple of weeks to complete.
"I did the motorcycle one, so it's been a success three days in: theory on the first day, on the third day then I did my test - passed, license in hand," Laura said.
Laura and her boyfriend Pav decided to make a holiday from the trip. Both had experienced problems with the long wait times for a test in Ireland.
In Laura's case, she said being unable to rent a motorcycle for the day of the exam meant that she had to cancel and reschedule. By the time she got another date, the time limit on her driving lessons had expired, putting her right back to the start of the process.
Pav told Prime Time that he had only sat in the driver's seat of a car for the first time two weeks before travelling to Georgia, and hoped to earn both his motorcycle and car licences before returning to Ireland.
Working in tech sales, he can work remotely in Georgia while he completes the process.
Both noted the difference between the Irish and Georgian systems.
"The [Irish] system must be under resourced or inefficient, one of the two," Pav said, "You'd expect that it wouldn't be as smooth or as clean over here, if we're not able to do it. There's something clearly very wrong."
While the new changes to Georgian law mean that fresh applicants must now prove residency of at least 180 days, the country's licensing process remains remarkably fast and efficient.
There are three elements to the Georgian driving test. As with Ireland, the first stage is a theory test. A practical exam in a controlled environment — known as the platform or autodrome — follows, where applicants must complete six timed manoeuvres.
Those who pass then progress to the final stage: the city driving test. All practical exams are taken in official test vehicles, equipped with cameras, sensors, and an automated computerised system that determines pass or fail, with little room for error or discretion.
Applicants show up to the test centre, take a ticket and wait to be called. The theory test can be retaken every week, the autodrome every day and the city driving exam can also be re-sat on a weekly basis.
The Georgian testing system has been completely overhauled in recent years, part of broader reforms aimed at aligning with European Union standards, following Georgia's designation as an EU candidate country in 2023.
Georgian officials told Prime Time that many parts of the Irish and UK driving test have been transposed into what is now a very modern and efficient new system.
The formats of the theory test and city driving test in particular have also been designed to closely mirror the Irish and UK equivalents.
The Georgian test system is rigorous. When Prime Time sat the autodrome exam, the first attempt ended in failure despite more than 20 years of driving experience. A second attempt was more successful.
During a demonstration of the city driving test in Rustavi, Mika explained that any errors causing an automatic failure will result in the applicant being asked to pull the car over and to surrender control of the vehicle to the accompanying examiner.
He said it enables authorities to complete far more tests.
Automatic disqualification can happen at any point during the exam, even before the vehicle has left the test centre. Prime Time observed several failed applicants on the roads sitting sheepishly in the back of the testing cars, being driven back to the test centre by their examiner.
Mika told Prime Time that he's had hundreds of requests for services from Ireland in recent months.
However, the change of Georgian legislation, introduced just last week, has closed off this avenue to a licence to would-be Irish drivers.
It has also closed a potential release valve for the increasing pressure on the Irish system.
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