What is called "Direct Access" is provided for in the Second European Directive on Driving Licences, 91/439/EEC of 29 July 1991. This states quite clearly, in regard to motorcycle licensing for ages 18 and upwards:

"- for category A; however, access to the driving of motorcycles with a power exceeding 25 kW or a power/weight ratio exceeding 0,16 kW/kg (or motorcycles with sidecars with a power/weight ratio exceeding 0,16 kW/kg) shall be subject to a minimum of two years' experience on motorcycles with lower specifications under an A licence; this requirement as to previous experience may be waived if the candidate is at least 21 years old, subject to the candidate's passing a specific test of skills and behaviour; "

There's ample opportunity here for getting into nitty-gritty technical details concerning precise kW power, and power/weight ratio, limits, training regimes and tests, the meaning of options in European Union directives, subsidiarity and special conditions. We could listen for hours on the finer points of the different ways a novice rider could progress through the proposed system, how this system interfaces with the rest of Europe and how the aims of the Driving Licence Directive are being achieved. In the context of this AGC it's all rubbish, pure and utter drivel. There is a time and place to engage in the technical trivia and mind-numbing circular debates surrounding the European driving licence details but this is not it.

Getting involved in all that chatter is a necessary part of engaging with the administrative system which created the bureaucratic mess called the European Driving Licence System. They were trying to make Europe simple and they instead made it more complicated. We read these dull documents so we can play the bureaucrats at their own game when need be. We read the finalised Euro directive so we can tell the Irish government what they can and cannot do. Naturally they get annoyed at this and would like to have us believe that like medieval priests only they can interpret the word handed down from Brussels not noticing that we were in Brussels when the directive was written and that we are in close contact with people in jurisdictions where the directive is implemented in ways which we approve of but which we are being told be the Government is illegal and impossible.

Direct Access is in reality a straightforward and simple issue. It's about who is allowed to ride what bikes. Civil servants who are prejudiced against motorcycles, for whatever reason, try to stop people riding bikes. They want less motorcyclists and they want them on smaller bikes. All sorts of unsupported safety ideas are thought up to justify the restrictions placed on motorcycling but when it comes to investigating the causes of accidents involving motorcyclists so that we can better prevent them, then the concern evaporates. The utterly under-funded MAIDS project which Ireland couldn't be bothered to participate in is a case in point.

There is no proof that keeping people on small motorcycles for longer improves the motorcycle accident rate. Experience and research actually points to the opposite.

The bottom line on Direct Access is that after much debate the European system settled on a directive which allows states to issue full bike licences to people aged 21 after they've taken a bike test. Most people in Europe can avail of this option but Irish people cannot.

In 1989 we had direct access at 18. Before last November we had direct access at 25. Now we don't have it at all. This is a clear and unambiguous step to damage motorcycling in Ireland and we will do everything we can to correct the situation.

Our clear policy is that we want direct access at 18 as it was before Padraig Flynn brought in the 125 law and immediately increased bike accidents by 10%.

If the DOE were concerned about bike accidents they would stop introducing meddlesome legislation such as this which leads to accidents and instead help us with road safety initiatives such as training and testing.