Amnesty sought for licence slip
Tuesday September 07 2010
The IFA has been called upon to seek an amnesty for older farmers who have been found in breach of driving licence regulations for drawing a trailer.
A meeting of Limerick IFA was told that the vast majority of farmers had fallen foul of the law simply because they neglected to tick a box on their application and they now face having to undergo a driving test to become fully compliant.
Limerick IFA has called on the association at national level to seek an amnesty for the farmers to bring them back in line with what they had been originally entitled to, but lost by default. The meeting was told that most farmers were unaware of the possible implications of failing to complete fully their driving licence applications.
County chairman, Eddie Scanlan told the meeting that many older farmers were finding themselves on the wrong side of the law through this simple oversight.
Sufficient
"Many of these farmers think that because they hold a driving licence for a car they are entitled to tow a trailer. While a B driving licence is sufficient to drive a car, they need an E+B licence to tow a trailer," Mr Scanlan said.
"The farmers who held a driving licence when the requirement for a driving test came in, were entitled to tick all of the boxes and get a full licence. They were never informed of the difference and if they only applied for a licence to drive a car they must now undergo a driving test to qualify for a licence to tow a trailer," he added.
He said that these farmers were entitled to the full licence and were entitled to an amnesty to have the use of a trailer added to their licence.
The use of a trailer is a fundamental requirement for most farmers, Mr Scanlan insisted.
"It does not make any sense to oblige these farmers to undergo a test to get what they were originally entitled to," he maintained.
- Martin Ryan
Irish Independent
