All driving instructors will have to undergo a compulsory test of their competence to instruct from January 1st, 2002, the Minister of State for the Environment, Mr Robert Molloy, has announced.
However, where driver instructors are already registered with a recognised body /register (such as the current voluntary Driving Instructor Register), which meets certain agreed criteria, they will be exempt from the test.
Mr Molloy said that in the interests of road safety it was important to ensure that a consistently high standard of driving skills was given to learner drivers by instructors.