Concerns were raised in the Dáil by TD Micheal Collins, along with his Rural Independents group colleagues, regarding the waiting time for a driving test.
The Rural Independents proposed a motion calling on the government to ensure the development and implementation of a well deliberated plan to tackle the backlog.
The Dáil heard that applicants in west Cork are still facing a lengthy wait for a driving test even though there has been additional testers recruited.
This is despite a commitment by the government to support the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to reduce the average wait time for a test to 10 weeks.
The plan would comply with reaching the RSA’s official target of a maximum 10-week wait for a driving test at every test centre in the country by the end of 2023 at the latest.
The motion was unanimously adopted by the Dáil after the government agreed against putting it to a vote.
Speaking at the Dáil, Deputy Collins said:
“The government, and indeed the RSA as the statutory body tasked with dealing with this issue, are both at the driving wheel here in terms of the delivery of a vital public service, and they are both failing miserably.”
He commented on the number of problems that drivers in rural areas face.
“All we are getting in west Cork is spin and bluff with no actual follow-through,” he continued,
” I pointed this out to the minister in the Dáil when I informed him that while his government and the RSA make a song and dance about recruitment drives and hiring new testers, they always conveniently omit the fact that none of these testers are being deployed to our towns and villages.
“They need the delivery of a basic and vital public service especially given the infrequency, unreliability and often, the total absence of rural transport links.”
He discussed how it was a “disgrace” that the applicants still have to wait 28.5 weeks on average for a driving test.
“Unless there is a rapid improvement in service and the recruitment of significantly higher numbers of testers, then the problem is only going to get worse,” the deputy added.
Deputy Collins also discussed how there was an increase in the number of eligible learner drivers who are “anxiously” waiting for a test.
The independent TD specified that the number of applicants waiting for a test increased by 61%. It has gone up from 44,545 in October 2022, reaching a “staggering” total of 71,554 individuals.