Vol. 461 No. 8
94 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for the Environment the reason the failure rate in driving tests is so high in south County Tipperary; the proposals, if any, he has to investigate the high failure rate; the proposals, if any, he has to alert driving test applicants of the most common reasons people fail; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3958/96]
The failure rate for tests in Clonmel in 1995, at 47.6 per cent was not unduly out of line with the national avarage rate of 45.2 per cent. The failure rate of 54.8 per cent for Tipperary is high relative to the national average and the situation there is being examined to establish the underlying causes and, in particular, to ascertain whether certain faults are contributing unduly to the high failure rate. Driver testers receive extensive training before commencing testing and are supervised and monitored by the experienced supervisory testers so as to maintain an even application of standards throughout the country.
All applicants for driving tests are provided with an information leaflet, entitled Preparing for your Driving Test, which includes details of the common faults resulting in test failures.
