Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has said that he would be “concerned” about any impediments to the availability of tractor drivers, particularly during busy periods for farmers such as harvest.

Last week the Irish Farmers Journal revealed that the Road Safety Authority (RSA) was considering the introduction of a driving test for tractors as well as mandatory lessons.

In response to this, the minister said that it’s very important to have a good balance of trained and safe vehicle operators on our roads but also having the availability of labour which is “desperately needed by our farmers”.

“Contractors need people who can drive their machines and farmers need our contractors – we’re all very interdependent," he said.

“There is a shortage of labour in the area so, I would be concerned around impediments to the availability of labour at a time when farmers are telling us that they don’t have enough labour.

“But at the same time road safety is really important and farm safety is extremely important and I believe we can come to a point that gets the balance right.”

Road safety review

The RSA has said that the introduction of a driving test and mandatory training programme is currently part of a review of road safety until 2027.

It is not yet understood whether those wishing to obtain their tractor licence will have to undergo the full 12 lessons required for a car licence or exactly what the training would entail.

Previously, the RSA had said that it was reviewing the minimum age limit at which you can drive a tractor.

However, this latest update points to more emphasis being placed on the standard of driving required to get behind the wheel of a tractor rather than the age, which is currently set at 16.