Emer Higgins
Question:176. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Transport the reason no driver theory test appointments are available to be booked in the next ten months (details supplied). [39871/20]
View answerTuesday, 1 December 2020
Questions (176)
Written answers
The Driver Theory Test was not deemed to be an essential service under Level 5. As a consequence, the service was closed, effective from midnight on Wednesday 21st of October, and for the duration of Level 5 restrictions. All appointments during that time have been rescheduled to the next available appointment date.
As I am sure you are aware, the Theory Test service was temporarily suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid 19 emergency. When the service resumed in June, there was an increased level of demand and a significant backlog developed. This was coupled with the need to significantly reduce normal daily capacity to comply with occupational and public health requirements.
When the Driver Theory Test Service closed on the 21st of October due to the latest restrictions, the majority of testing centres had almost full bookings up to end December and some into January too as it worked its way through the initial backlog. The decision was taken by the service provider that any candidates who had appointments on the suspension of the service were rescheduled to the next available slots, so some locations may have longer waiting time than others.
Driver Theory Test Centres will re-open from 1st December, following the Government decision of last week, and additional availability is now being added for January, February and March.
The Road Safety Authority has advised my office that it is engaging with its service provider to examine ways of increasing the number of tests within the current health constraints. This will help reduce and, over time, eliminate the backlog.
Driver theory test appointments are made available up to the middle of 2021 by the contractor operating the driver theory test on behalf of the Road Safety Authority, and additional slots are now being made available. With these additional slots, it is anticipated that around 26,000 appointments will be available and some of these have already been booked. In January 2021, a further 10,000 appointments will be made available, with 15,000 to be rolled out in February and a further 15,000 in March 2021. It is planned that the additional slots for these three months will start to be rolled out this week. I would advise candidates to regularly check the service through https://theorytest.ie/ as more appointments become available.
While I regret the inconvenience caused, public safety is of paramount importance. My officials and I are working hard to ensure the resumption of services as soon as level 5 is lifted.