Exchanging your Driving Licence for an Irish

[john]

Q. I will be taking up residence in Ireland, can I exchange my driving permit (licence) for an Irish Driving Licence.

A. It is possible to exchange a driving licence issued by an EU member state or an EEA member state (Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland) for a Irish driving licence. It is also possible to exchange a driving licence issued by certain recognised states for an Irish driving licence.
If you are the holder of a driving licences issued by a country that is not recognised for driving licence exchange, you cannot exchange your licence for an Irish licence. You will only get an Irish driving licence after you have gone through the full driver licensing procedure, starting with the driver theory test.
EU States

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Ireland also has agreements with the following countries, which means if you are moving to Ireland you can exchange your driving permit for a full Irish driving licence and you will not need to do a driving test

Holders of licences issued by recognised states
Ireland has agreements with certain other countries/states that designates them as recognised states for the purposes of driving licence exchange. These are:
Australia
Gibraltar
Guernsey
Isle of Man
Japan
Jersey
South Africa
South Korea
Switzerland
New Zealand*
Taiwan*
* Under the Road Traffic (Recognition of Foreign Driving Licences - New Zealand and Taiwan) Order 2010 (SI 402/2010) New Zealand and Taiwan were added to the list of recognised states but with certain qualifications.
If you are a holder of a licence issued by one of the above states you can drive in Ireland when visiting, providing your licence is valid. If you become normally resident in Ireland, you can drive for up to 12 months from the date of becoming resident, as long as your licence has not expired. You are considered to be normally resident in Ireland if, because of personal and occupational ties, you usually live here for at least 185 days in each calendar year.
If you wish to exchange your driving licence for an equivalent Irish driving licence, you must do so within one year of your driving licence expiring.
Holders of driving licences from other countries
If you are not from any of the above countries, (for example, if you are from Canada or the United States), and you hold a national driving licence or an international driving permit from your own country, you may drive in Ireland for the duration of your temporary visit (up to 12 months).
If your stay in Ireland will be more than 12 months you can apply for an Irish driving licence but you will need to go through the full driver licensing procedure. You must first complete a driver theory test, apply for a learner driving permit and complete your driving test in Ireland. If you pass your driving test, you will be issued with a full Irish driving licence.
More details here :- Citizens Information