Vol. 535 No. 4
205 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if his Department has instituted a system whereby it can forecast the demand for driving tests; the progress his Department has made in instituting such a system in view of the commitment outlined in the December 1999 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12828/01]
A forecast model to assist in estimating the demand for driving tests is now available to the Department.
206 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the driving test centre which is exhibiting the longest waiting times for driving tests; the number of staff in that centre; the average number of tests carried out by each individual staff person; the number of days a week tests are carried out; the level of cancellation by people who had been given a test date; the pass rate in that centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12829/01]
The driving test centre with the longest waiting time as at 2 May 2001, is Castlebar test centre. The maximum waiting time for a test appointment at the centre is 35 weeks. The average waiting time for the centre is 23 weeks. On average two testers have been assigned to work in the centre each week since the beginning of the year. A weekly average of 35 tests have been conducted by eight separate testers who have worked in the centre on different occasions. Tests are normally scheduled for five days a week and tests have been conducted on Saturday on twelve separate occasions in the period up to 28 April 2001. The pass rate at the centre is 55.5%; the national pass rate is 56.4%. In the period from 1 January to 28 April 2001, 96 candidates failed to show up for their scheduled test appointment.
207 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if his Department fulfilled its performance targets in relation to the amount of time applicants have to wait for a driving test, namely, ten weeks from the date of application, which was the target for 2000; if this target was not met, if he will outline the length of time most applicants waited for their test during 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12830/01]
Due to the unprecedented level of applications for driving tests in 2000 my Department did not attain its customer service target of ten weeks waiting for a driving test by the end of 2000. The average waiting time for candidates undergoing a driving test in 2000 was 20 weeks. It is forecast that 165,700 applications will be received in 2001. On this basis it is anticipated that the target of ten weeks longest waiting time nationally will be met by the end of this year.
208 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of people nationally who are on the waiting list to do driving tests; if he will give the breakdown from area to area; the number of those waiting for the tests who will be tested during 2001; the number of tests which were actually carried out during 2000 in view of the fact that there were 87,000 applicants on the waiting list at the end of 1999; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12831/01]
Some 68,000 persons were awaiting a driving test at 2 May 2001. The dis-aggregation of this figure to individual test centres is set out in the following table.
The number of applicants who had a test conducted in 2000 was 162,660. All those currently on the waiting list, and available for testing, will be tested during 2001. My Department's testing corps has a potential capacity to conduct some 210,000 standard tests this year.
|
Test Centre |
|
|
North Leinster Region |
|
|
Finglas |
5,718 |
|
Raheny |
2,994 |
|
Dundalk |
1,807 |
|
Mullingar |
854 |
|
Navan |
1,936 |
|
South Leinster Region |
|
|
Churchtown/Rathgar |
6,275 |
|
Tallaght |
3,526 |
|
Gorey |
752 |
|
Naas |
2,373 |
|
Tullamore |
803 |
|
Wicklow |
940 |
|
West Region |
|
|
Athlone |
657 |
|
Birr |
699 |
|
Castlebar |
1,756 |
|
Clifden |
208 |
|
Ennis |
716 |
|
Galway |
2,328 |
|
Loughrea |
839 |
|
Roscommon |
848 |
|
Tuam |
692 |
|
North West Region |
|
|
Ballina |
716 |
|
Buncrana |
389 |
|
Carrick-on-Shannon |
865 |
|
Cavan |
1,052 |
|
Donegal |
850 |
|
Letterkenny |
1,204 |
|
Longford |
667 |
|
Monaghan |
851 |
|
Sligo |
1,170 |
|
South East Region |
|
|
Carlow |
1,080 |
|
Clonmel |
870 |
|
Dungarvan |
701 |
|
Kilkenny |
1,410 |
|
Nenagh |
365 |
|
Portlaoise |
769 |
|
Thurles |
533 |
|
Tipperary |
460 |
|
Waterford |
1,703 |
|
Wexford |
1,187 |
|
South West Region |
|
|
Cork |
5,406 |
|
Killarney |
1,084 |
|
Kilrush |
319 |
|
Limerick |
2,353 |
|
Mallow |
1,268 |
|
Newcastle West |
1,162 |
|
Shannon |
648 |
|
Skibereen |
1,148 |
|
Tralee |
1,177 |
|
Total |
68,128 |
