IFA Meet Road Safety Authority on Car and Trailer Licencing

IFA Environment and Rural Affairs Chairman Pat Farrell has called on the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to end the requirement that farmers must sit a test to tow a trailer, despite the fact that many of these farmers already had the correct licence to tow a trailer before the law changed.

Mr. Farrell who attended a meeting with senior officials from the RSA in their head office in Ballina, County Mayo said, “Some years ago the licensing requirements changed and the old ‘C’ licence no longer allowed farmers to tow a trailer, with a car or jeep, unless the farmer applied on a separate application form. However this additional requirement was not adequately communicated by the local authorities and now farmers find themselves in difficulty.”

Pat Farrell concluded by calling on both the RSA and the Minister for Transport Leo Varadakar to immediately review the present licensing regime and ensure that licences are reinstated for those farmers who previously had a licence to tow a trailer.