Man begins challenge after his bid to renew driving licence is refused over residency requirements

A Chinese man who was refused a renewal of his driving licence here has brought a High Court challenge.

He was refused because he did not meet what he says are new Road Safety Authority (RSA) requirements proving normal residency.

His student visa allowing him to stay here expired in 2001 but he has since then been providing for himself working as a restaurant delivery driver. A decision is awaited in relation to his application for right to remain here.

He claims the RSA exceeded its legislative authority by changing its policy to require that an applicant establish their right to residency. He says all he needed when he first applied for a licence in 2007 was a utility bill.

Now the RSA says he must show he is validly resident here which means he has to show he has a visa.

He says there is no legislative basis, either in national or EU law, for such a requirement.

He has brought proceedings against the RSA, its licensing arm the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS), the Minister for Transport and the State.

The defendants dispute his claims and say the normal residency requirement had evolved since he first got his licence, which was granted under the old local authority licensing system. It is a requirement an applicant had to show they had a right to be in Ireland, they say.

Mícheál O'Higgins SC, for the man, said after his student visa expired he built a life here mainly working for local restaurants in west Dublin and Kildare as a delivery driver. He has always provided for himself and never applied for, or wanted to apply for, social welfare.

The refusal to renew his 10-year licence last year has meant he has no other source of income.

Mr O'Higgins said the NDLS has said it will not entertain applicants without proving they have a right to normal residency here. "This seeks to disenfranchise all people not legally resident here," counsel said.

It also represented a significant change in policy which had not come about as a result of any amendment of the 2006 legislation setting up the RSA.

Counsel said several other Chinese people who find themselves in the same position of being refused a licence renewal over the residency requirement have sought legal advice.

It was clear from the evidence before the court that the way the new policy is being operated is "rendering ineligible (for licence renewal) a whole swathe of undocumented people," he said.

Hugh O'Keeffe SC, for the RSA and the State, said entitlement to a licence is only such if you can show a residence right. It is part of regulations which are part of the law that residency is a requirement for applying for a licence, he said.

Following queries from Mr Justice Garrett Simons about whether the regulations were designed to also apply to third country non-EU/EEA nationals, the judge said he may have to make a reference on the matter to the Court of Justice of the EU.

Mr O'Keefe asked for time to discuss that suggestion with his clients. The judge adjourned the matter to Wednesday.