The US<\/a> was in between Trump presidencies then and MacKinnon \u201chad a feeling it was going to happen again\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was not in office when we moved but I saw that, either by hook or by crook, he was going to get himself back in there. I didn\u2019t want to be in the US when that happened,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n The couple are among the thousands of people who move from the US to Ireland annually. There was a 96 per cent increase in the numbers <\/a>making the switch (from 4,900 to 9,600) between April 2024 and last April, according to Central Statistics Office figures. <\/p>\n Relocations and returns take considerable planning. Finding accommodation and employment were among the most pressing tasks for MacKinnon and Hogan, but proved more straightforward than something further down their list of priorities: getting driving licences.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody, when they\u2019re doing their research to come over here, even thinks twice about a driver\u2019s licence,\u201d MacKinnon says. <\/p>\n Both have been driving for more than 30 years and expected they would be able to exchange their US licences for Irish ones or, at the very least, not have to \u201cstart from scratch\u201d.<\/p>\n MacKinnon says they respect the laws and regulations but it does not \u201cmake sense\u201d to treat seasoned motorists the same as learners, particularly when there are long waiting lists to sit a driving test<\/a>. <\/p>\n Before moving to the US, Hogan had an Irish licence for about 20 years but it expired before he returned. The process of obtaining new licences took almost two years, MacKinnon says, and \u201cnegatively impacted our ability to work and live here\u201d.<\/p>\n She works in administration and Hogan runs a food truck, so driving is essential for his job. The couple were lucky Hogan had relatives who could give them lifts, she says, but \u201cnot everybody has that luxury\u201d. <\/p>\n Since obtaining her licence, she says motor insurance has been \u201cthrough the roof\u201d as she is treated the same as a novice driver. <\/p>\n People who move to Ireland and hold a driving licence from countries including the US can drive on Irish roads for up to a year. After that period, people from certain countries (or certain regions of Canada) can exchange their licence for an Irish one. However, the US is not among them. Holders of foreign licences who cannot exchange their licence here may be eligible to take six driving lessons instead of the usual 12<\/a> for a learner. <\/p>\n MacKinnon says she understands the value of drivers from other countries taking a theory test, so they are up to speed with Irish rules and road signage. However, she believes \u201cthere\u2019s got to be some sort of happy medium there, or some way to expedite it for people who need to get to jobs and need to drive their kids to doctors\u2019 appointments\u201d.<\/p>\n A new report says thousands of experienced drivers like her \u201cface an unnecessarily burdensome process to get an Irish driving licence\u201d, which \u201ccreates a significant financial burden and impacts their ability to travel to work and live their lives\u201d.<\/p>\n
![\"Damian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DZ2TUGMA5RBDTG4HR4IEE6D3GQ.jpg\")
Damian Greene and his wife Joyce emigrated from Ireland in 1988, before\u00a0returning in 2019. Photograph: Cian Greene <\/p>\n