Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 October 2023
147. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Transport when additional personnel will be assigned on a permanent basis to the Cavan test centre in view of ongoing delays for applicants awaiting tests at this centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45242/23]
View answerUnder the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service. This includes the deployment of driver testing staff.
As such, the first part of the question regarding the Cavan test centre is being referred to the RSA for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
On the broader issue of delays, the service has been under significant pressure to meet unprecedented demand, which has increased by 28% compared with 2021 figures. In response to these pressures, earlier this year the Authority reviewed the capacity of the driver testing service and, following a request for additional resources, my Department gave approval for the recruitment of up to 75 additional driver testers. This brings the total number of sanctioned driver tester posts to just over 200.
This recruitment is underway and being managed by the Authority. I have been advised that the first tranche of new recruits were deployed in September. The additional driver testers are being allocated across the driver testing service with a focus on geographical areas with the longest waiting times and highest demand for tests.
As the additional driver testers are trained and deployed, the backlog for driver testing services will begin to decline and the RSA estimate that the agreed service level of average wait times of 10 weeks will resume in mid-2024.
