Tá áthas orm bheith anseo arís ar an ócáid seo chun labhairt faoi na deacrachtaí atá againn ó thaobh an teastas tiománaíocht agus táim buíoch do na Seanadóirí as ucht an seans a thugann san dom chuid den scéal a mhíniú. Nílim fhéin sásta, seachas éinne eile, go mion go bhfuil daoine ag fanacht chomh fada san chun an scrúdú san a dhéanamh. Tá sé ar intinn agam gan a chur suas leis seo mórán achair eile mar tá sé ag cur isteach go mór ar chúrsaí pearsanta – tá daoine ag fanacht – agus tá sé ag cur isteach ar chúrsaí eacnamaíochta chomh maith. Is an-drochchuí ina bhfuil an scéal seo, go bhfuil liosta chomh fada sin agus go mbíonn ar daoine fanacht ró-fhada chun dul faoin scrúdú.
I am grateful to Senators for raising this issue and for giving me an opportunity to explain the progress that has been made in improving the delivery of a driving test service in the face of a continuing and unprecedented high level of demand for the service. No matter how one criticises this unsatisfactory situation, we must recognise we are living in extraordinary times. There is huge growth in demand for certain services – housing is one and driving tests are another. This is a reflection of the growth of the economy and these are problems that, in a way, we should be glad to confront. In other times we had problems arising from lack of employment and emigration and our economy suffered as a result. Demand is one of the major factors involved in the unsatisfactory situation regarding driving tests. I will refer to the other factors before I conclude.
Over the years, the number of applications for driving tests has seen considerable fluctuations. Applications on hand had risen to some 67,000 by 1990, and waiting periods were comparable to those reached in 1998. During 1992, waiting periods were reduced to the order of ten to 12 weeks, with a backlog of under 30,000 applications. This is the customer quality standard which my Department has now set itself and to which we are determined to return as quickly as possible. Senator Quinn seemed to ridicule this, but in the present circumstances to reduce the waiting per iod to ten or 12 weeks would be a major achievement. I am not saying I am happy with this because I would like to see it reduced a great deal more. I would prefer someone being able to get a test within four weeks. However, I am a realist and I recognise that in the present circumstances to achieve a waiting period of ten to 12 weeks would be a major improvement.
The current waiting time problem started in 1996 when greatly increased numbers of driving test applications were made to the Department of the Environment and Local Government, partly, at least, in response to tighter regulations about the renewal of provisional driving licences. In 1996, applications rose 20% over 1995. However, in 1997, the rate of increase in test applications abated considerably. It was not until 1998 that the trend towards greatly increased driver test demand became fully established and the link between this demand and the buoyant Irish economy asserted itself inescapably. In 1998, there was an increase of 23% over 1997, resulting in an all time record of 146,506 test applications. This trend continued in 1999, which saw the previous record being broken, when a total of 153,389 applications were received. This is an increase of 5% on 1998 and 45% on 1995. Indications so far this year are that we are likely to reach about 170,000 applications this year. If this projection proves accurate, it represents an 11% increase on the record intake in 1999.
Despite this unprecedented rise in demand, the waiting times for driving tests have improved considerably, with the average waiting time falling from 33 to 26 weeks, while the longest anyone has to wait for a test has fallen from an average of 41 weeks to 29 weeks. The present backlog of driving test applications is some 91,000, down from the high of 102,000 in 1999, but slightly up on the starting figures for 2000.
Improvements to the service in 1999 were achieved by increasing the numbers and productivity of the driver testers. Very significant additional resources have been allocated to the driver testing service, which now numbers 100 testers, compared to 66 in 1998. The recruitment of additional testers, both permanent and contract, followed the holding of a competition by the Civil Service Commission and lengthy negotiations with the driver testers' union, to agree greater productivity and the recruitment of contract testers. Additional staff and productivity, together with Saturday working, has increased the testing capacity of the service by over 90,000 tests annually.
Access to the service has also been improved through the provision of two new test centres in Tallaght and Raheny. In response to the upsurge in demand in the current year, the Department is taking steps for the immediate employment of retired testers and the recruitment of further testers from the Civil Service Commission panel. We are also seeking to negotiate a bonus scheme with existing testers with a view to maximising their productivity. These measures should bring us close to meeting our target of ten weeks maximum waiting time for an appointment by the end of this year, despite the strongly rising demand.
I must emphasise that where an individual requires a test for urgent reasons, they will be facilitated as far as possible. During the most recent period for which figures are available, 38% of applicants were tested within 15 weeks. If Senator Coogan knows of someone whose employment prospects are affected because they have to wait for a driving test, that person should make that known to the Department. As I have said on numerous occasions and as most Members of the Oireachtas are aware, we will always seek to accommodate such a person where they can genuinely show employment is being denied to them if they do not have their driving test. We have honoured this commitment, as can be seen by the figure of 38% of applicants being tested within 15 weeks.
I am very conscious of the need to provide a testing service which can offer tests within a reasonable period of time and I assure the Seanad that both I and my Department will take the measures necessary to ensure that a quality service is provided. I am determined to bring progressive and substantial improvement to the quality of the driving test service provided to the public and in particular to end present excessive and unacceptable waiting times.
The driver testing service has been examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General, who has prepared a value for money report on the service which has been submitted to the Department and will shortly be presented to the Oireachtas. The report makes some useful recommendations that are capable of being addressed within the existing organisational structure of the service. It identifies three main areas where change is needed in order to improve the service. These relate to uniformity in the standard of the driving test, waiting times and the supply of driving tests, and the cost of providing the service. The report also identifies the broader issue of the lack of responsiveness of the service in the face of rapidly rising demand.
I intend that this report will shortly be presented to the Oireachtas, together with a considered response on my part. I assure Senators that this response will take account of the need to make the service more responsive to customers' needs and will address the need to ensure that the testing service will, in the future, be able to respond to fluctuations in demand and deliver a quality service to the public. Improving the responsiveness of the service will include the need to consider how to improve the delivery of the service and in this context alternative methods of delivery would have to be considered. Such methods could include a restructuring of the existing service, the establishment of an independent agency or even the outsourcing of the service to the private sector. I have an open mind on these issues which will require careful consideration. As Senator Coogan mentioned, my preference and that of my party is that this service be privatised.
The parameters for the driving test now reflect the high standards laid down in EU directives which facilitates the recognition of Irish driving licences in the EU and internationally. The driving test must determine whether an applicant is competent to drive a vehicle safely and with due regard for the safety and convenience of other persons. The role of driver testing in ensuring that drivers reach an acceptable level of competence is important in the context of road safety. The issue of driver competence is emphasised in the Government's road safety strategy, a subject to which I will return later.
A related issue that is often raised in the context of road safety and the waiting period for driving tests is the number of provisional licence holders on the roads, which was mentioned by the proposer of this motion. Some misconceptions exist in relation to the number of persons driving on provisional driving licences and also in relation to the arrangement governing the number of provisional licences which a person may obtain. I take this opportunity to set the record straight.
In relation to the number of provisional licences a person may obtain for any particular category of vehicle, there is no limit. The first two licences are each valid for a period of two years. However, in order to be entitled to a third or subsequent provisional licence for any particular category of vehicle, a person must have undergone a driving test for that category within the preceding two years or, failing that, have a driving test appointment arranged, in which case the provisional licence is granted for one year only.
Another misconception is that the estimated 380,000 provisional licence holders are driving around without having ever undergone the driving test. This is not the case. In 1999, approximately 37% of applicants were undergoing the test for at least the second time. The overall pass rate for driving tests in 1999 was 59%, nearly 60%, and the pass rates for first time and non-first time applicants were of a similar order. The figure in the UK is 46%.
A related concern is the accompaniment of learner drivers by qualified drivers. Provisional licence holders are required by law to be accompanied by a driver qualified to drive the vehicle being driven, except where the driver holds a second provisional driving licence to drive cars, or is the holder of a provisional licence to drive motorcycles or tractors or work vehicles. A car learner driver is only exempt from being accompanied during the currency of a second provisional licence, which is valid for two years.
The intention behind the exemption provision on being accompanied is that learner drivers are required to have at least two years' driving experience accompanied by qualified drivers before being permitted to drive unaccompanied. They are deemed to have sufficient previous experience accompanied by qualified drivers to be allowed drive unaccompanied during the validity of the second provisional licence. The fact that they are required to be accompanied on a third or subsequent provisional licence is an incentive to pass the driving test during the currency of the second provisional licence if they wish to remain driving unaccompanied. Notwithstanding the fact that many provisional licence holders will have undergone the test, we recognise that the number of Irish drivers relying on provisional licences is too high. We are determined to reduce this proportion significantly.
The Government is in the process of introducing a theoretical test of knowledge in addition to the practical driving test. The test will cover the rules of the road, risk perception, hazard awareness and good driving behaviour. The operation of the theory test will be contracted out to a private company as a private public partnership project. Success at the theory test will be a prerequisite for obtaining a first provisional driving licence and will ensure that provisional licence holders have an adequate knowledge of the rules of the road before being allowed to drive on the road. It is envisaged that the test will be an information technology based system, that is, carried out through a computer based medium with multiple choice questions on a computer screen. Tenders have recently been invited and it is expected that the contract for the operation of the test will be awarded in the autumn.
The Government's road safety strategy sets out to make a measurable impact on road deaths and injuries in Ireland over its five year term. The strategy's primary target is to achieve at least a 20% reduction in deaths and serious injuries by 2002 relative to 1997. This target will be achieved through a concerted effort in the three key areas of speeding, alcohol use and seat belt wearing and the implementation of a range of measures designed to improve human behaviour and to make our vehicles and roads safer. We are about to commence the use of fixed cameras on some of our major motorways. Therefore, drivers had better be careful.
Since the introduction of the Government road safety strategy there have been substantial improvements in terms of accident reduction; 3% fewer people died on the roads in 1998 than in 1997, 12% fewer people were seriously injured in 1998 than in 1997. This represents the lowest number of serious injuries for the last decade and constitutes significant progress towards the five year target in the Government's strategy.
More recent data from the Garda Síochána indicate that there were 413 road deaths in 1999 compared with 458 in 1998. This would represent a reduction of some 13% in road deaths relative to 1997 in the second full year of operation of the Government's road safety strategy.
There has also been substantial progress in the implementation of the measures set out in the strategy designed to help achieve the main targets of reducing road deaths and serious injuries. That is evidenced by the number of fines issued for drink driving, for driving without wearing a seat belt and for speeding. There has been an enormous increase in the detection rate and the enforcement levels by the Garda. I thank them for their extremely good co-operation and police work in this area.
International research establishes that human action is a contributory factor in more than 90% of road accidents. The road safety strategy accordingly emphasises policies and measures aimed at improving road user behaviour and establishing a culture of road use that is both precautionary and pro-active in relation to road safety. The strategy also aligns itself with road safety plans from other countries in recognising that the modification of human behaviour in the areas of speed, alcohol use and seat belt wearing holds the greatest and most immediate potential for realising road safety gains.
The road safety strategy proposes improvements in driver training and testing as well as in educational programmes as complements to its primary counter-measures in relation to speeding, alcohol use and seat belt wearing. I recently announced proposals for improving the quality control and regulation of driving instruction. These include the recognition of certain private approved bodies, which would operate to quality standards and train or assess and register driving instructors. Registration with such approved bodies would exempt an individual driving instructor from the otherwise general obligation to undergo, from 1 January 2000 – I think that should be from 1 January 2002 – a competency test of their ability to instruct.
I recently announced an initiative by the Irish Motorcycle Action Group, MAG, to establish a network of motorcycle instructors. Funding will be advanced to the Irish Rider Training Association, which has been established under the auspices of MAG, to enable it to carry out this task. There is a commitment in the road safety strategy to address the issue of initial practical training for motorcyclists before they go on the public road. The establishment of the Irish Rider Training Association responds to this concern. It is envisaged that the IRTA will assess and train potential instructors who will then be available to deliver instruction in their local areas. I look forward to a reduction in motorcycle fatalities as a result of the greater availability of trained motorcycle instructors and urge all motorcyclists, particularly novice riders, to avail of the training service that will be available from the IRTA in the coming year.
I am acutely aware of the widespread concern about long waiting periods for driving tests. While we still manage to provide reasonably timely tests for urgent cases, my Department recognises that a much better service is required for our customers as a matter of course. We have already committed extensive additional resources to the driver testing service and we will work to restore it to a high and guaranteed quality standard as quickly as possible and make the service more responsive to customer needs.
I mentioned in the other House the industrial relations problems – this was reflected in some of Senator Quinn's comments – that have bedevilled this area of employment in the public sector, the employment of driver testers and the extraordinary lines of demarcation of work practices that have come into use. The length of time it took my officials to negotiate with the union representing the driver testers was extraordinary. In mentioning this I am open to the accusation that I am pointing the finger or laying the blame somewhere else.
It is important that Senators should be aware of this situation. It is also important that driver testers should be aware that on a number of occasions I have been taken to task by my colleagues in the Dáil and in the Seanad about the unsatisfactory position regarding driver testers and the length of time people have to wait to take their driving test. I am aware of the problems in this area. I cannot simply employ the number of additional testers I require, with the approval of the Minister for Finance which I would have, and deploy them in the appropriate centres to ensure that we can give the public the service they deserve and Members of this House are rightly seeking.
I have indicated that the kind of review I am considering will include serious consideration of the other alternatives I mentioned. It is not a pleasant task to make forecasts as to the reduction that can be achieved in a year and discover at the end of the year that we did not achieve that level of reduction. That is partly due to the extraordinary increase in demand, but that is not the sole reason we are not able to get on top of this issue. There are other factors in the industrial relations area that up to now have been a serious issue. I have been tolerant and patient in dealing with this issue, as have my officials who have been operating on behalf of the Government in these negotiations. I accept that this House and the other House are looking for another way to solve this problem, and I will give that serious consideration.
