Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 June 2020
860. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the impacts which social distancing guidelines will have on the ability of CPC training companies to deliver training safely; and if he is considering financial subvention to the sector in view of the reduced capacity which it will experience as a result of social distancing. [8345/20]
View answerDriver CPC training is classroom based and in keeping with the EU legislation that regulates Driver CPC, each training day is for a minimum of 7 hours duration excluding breaks. Class size can vary but may not exceed 16 drivers.
Due to the current situation with Covid-19, training organisations will be required to adhere to Government guidelines on social distancing when reopening their business and organising CPC training courses.
Many training organisations operate from hotels and other similar venues and have a choice of rooms available to them. If there is sufficient space in the training room to allow the maximum number of drivers attend while adhering to the social distancing guidelines the maximum number of attendees will be permitted. This is a decision to be made by the individual CPC training organisations in consultation with the HSA and will vary depending on the size of classroom available to them.
While the maximum number of drivers permitted per class is 16, outside of the peak training periods of August/September, the actual number of attendees fluctuates from course to course, with the majority of classes made up of between 8 and 10 drivers.
