asked the Minister for the Environment the total number of applicants on the waiting list for a driving test on a county by county basis.
55.
Written Answers. - Driving Test Waiting Lists.
49.
asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that it can take up to seven months to have a driving test carried out in County Louth; the plans, if any, he has to rectify this unsatisfactory situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 49 and 55 together.
I propose to circulate in the Official Report a statement showing the number of applicants awaiting driving tests on a county by county basis.
Following is the statement. Regarding County Louth, I am aware that it can take about seven months to get a driving test. The main reason is that in recent years, there have been too few testers available to carry out tests because of public sector staffing constraints. There are 48 driver testers throughout the country at present. Recently four extra staff were redeployed to driver testing duties and these are now being trained. I have also made arrangements to recruit further testers to bring the permanent corps up to 60 and additional temporary testers on a contract basis in order to reduce the waiting periods for tests to an acceptable level as soon as practicable.
Number of Applications on the Driver Testing Waiting List on a County by County Basis.
|
Carlow |
521 |
|
Cavan |
1,099 |
|
Clare |
1,328 |
|
Cork |
4,012 |
|
Donegal |
1,750 |
|
Dublin |
15,418 |
|
Galway |
3,246 |
|
Kerry |
1,156 |
|
Kildare |
576 |
|
Kilkenny |
782 |
|
Laois |
447 |
|
Leitrim |
417 |
|
Limerick |
2,506 |
|
Longford |
532 |
|
Louth |
1,145 |
|
Mayo |
1,438 |
|
Meath |
854 |
|
Monaghan |
842 |
|
Offaly |
779 |
|
Roscommon |
772 |
|
Sligo |
743 |
|
Tipperary |
1,257 |
|
Waterford |
1,632 |
|
Wexford |
1,362 |
|
Westmeath |
616 |
|
Wicklow |
625 |
|
45,855 |