Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 November 2023
8. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Transport if his Department has considered instructing driving tests to be completed on weekends as well as weekdays to reduce significant waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52814/23]
View answer18. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Transport the actions he has taken to speed up driver testing in counties Cavan and Monaghan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52805/23]
View answerThe Minister will be delighted to know that I am substituting for Deputy Higgins on this question, which relates to the waiting times for driving tests. In 2020, Covid created a massive problem in this area and massive backlogs, but we have not seen the type of progress that we would have liked to have seen in clearing those backlogs. The regular issues that I have to deal with in my office are from constituents who badly need to have full licences for work, for education and for other reasons. We do not have the public transport links, particularly in rural constituencies, that we need to have. People need to be able to drive. They need to have their full licences. They need those backlogs cleared.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 18 together.
I thank Deputies Griffin and Tully who have raised this important issue.
The Deputy will be aware that the Road Safety Authority, RSA, has statutory responsibility for the operational aspects of the national driver testing service, including in the context of test applications and scheduling matters. I assure the Deputy, however, that my Department is working closely with the authority to address driver testing waiting times, which is an issue of great concern. The length of waiting time for many, particularly young people, has been unacceptable. The current national average waiting time for an invitation to test is 25 weeks, far above the service level agreement of ten weeks. The service has been under significant pressure to meet unprecedented demand, which has increased by 28% compared with 2021 figures. Contributing factors to this rise in demand include an increase in the number of learner permits in circulation, increased capacity in the context of the driver theory test and an increase in the capacity of approved driving instructors to deliver lessons to learner drivers.
Anticipating ongoing demand pressures, the authority reviewed the capacity of the service and, following a request for additional resources, my Department gave approval for the recruitment of up to 75 additional driver testers in March of this year. This brings the total number of sanctioned driver tester posts to 205, which is more than double the 100 sanctioned posts in June 2022. The first new recruits were deployed in September. It is expected that before the end of the year, there will be a net increase of 42 driver testers. These new recruits are being allocated across the driver testing service, with a focus on geographical areas with the longest waiting times and highest demand for tests. There is also a requirement for flexible deployment that balances demand for tests with local supply of testers. In the Dublin area alone, there will be an increase in the number of testers of 14 bringing the total number of testers in the county to 52. Cavan has been allocated an additional driver tester. I am also advised by the RSA that it will be examining the other regions in the context of that flexible deployment.
Overall, the authority is providing an average of 4,000 tests per week nationwide, up 25% on this time last year. Driving tests are offered on Saturdays. However, testing on a Sunday is not offered as the authority needs to be mindful of working hours rules for driver testers. Therefore, Sunday overtime would not add any additional capacity to the driver testing service.
As the new driver testers have been deployed, average wait times have been declining since September. This reduction will accelerate as all of the new recruits enter active service. The RSA estimates that the agreed service level of average wait times of ten weeks will be restored in the middle of 2024.
I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the fact that this issue is now on his radar and that measures are being taken to address the problem. I remember working as Jimmy Deenihan's parliamentary assistant back in the early 2000s. At that stage, trying to get driving tests for people who needed their licences for the purposes of work was a real problem. It improved for a while, but it has greatly regressed in recent years.
I acknowledge the efforts which have been made. Deputy Higgins's question related to the possible use of weekend testing to clear the backlog. If the Minister of State is confident that the measures which have been taken will address this issue, however, that is well and good. I look forward, hopefully, to acknowledging that in the Chamber in the months to come. I ask the Minister of State to keep a very close eye on this matter because it affects people in a significant way in the context of their everyday ability to take up employment and to be able to get from A to B. Obviously, there is also a significant road safety element involved. The efforts being made are encouraging. I hope that they will be effective. If they are not working, I ask that the Minister of State intervene to ensure that they do work?
I am approached on a regular basis, especially by young people who cannot get affordable accommodation near their place of study. There are no reliable public transport systems in place in many areas. These young people rely on driving and are looking for tests. Previously, the average waiting time was 30 weeks. It has come down in Cavan. It is down to probably 18 or 19 weeks now, which is very welcome. This is because there is an extra tester in place. However, we need Monaghan and other areas to be looked at. The question that arises is whether this is a permanent appointment in Cavan. Is it just to clear the backlog, which happened previously when there were backlogs to be cleared. After the backlogs were cleared, the number of testers was reduced. Recently, the number has increased again. We know that there has been a 28% increase in the number of people seeking tests.
Are there sufficient testers to cover unexpected absences, such as holiday leave, jury duty and all of that sort of thing? There are often cancellations at last-minute, within 24 hours, and there is no really fast way of looking for reimbursement. I know people who turned up for tests not knowing that they had been cancelled at very short notice. Also, driving instructors who give their cars to the young people involved to take the test are not being compensated for loss of earnings on the relevant day.
I thank both Deputies. As Deputy Griffin said, we will be monitoring this very closely in order that we do not yo-yo back into a situation that is just unacceptable.
On Deputy Tully's point, when I entered the Department earlier in January, part of the challenge was that it was clear there was a total mismatch between demand and the capacity of the system. Increasing the number of testers from 100 to more than 200 provides a degree of resilience and the capacity to deal with the other consequences that might arise, as Deputy Tully correctly said, whether that be due to illness or unexpected absences.
It is about having flexible deployment of testers in different regions; it is not about allowing the waiting time for any area or region to go back up to where it was. We want to ensure that we have a wait time of ten weeks, which is the service level agreement, which is being requested of the RSA in the context of its operational responsibilities. We want to ensure that that is met in the middle of 2024 and maintained in order that there will be certainty for people who hold learner permits, and for those who know the demographic of our population. There are many people, apparently teenagers, from whom there will be ongoing demand for driving tests in the years to come. It is important that we maintain and have that capacity to intervene as required. We must have a public service that has the capacity to address wait times in order that they are not more than ten weeks. That is our target. It is about building a resilient service which can meet that demand.
There are also the wider road safety considerations and concerns, particularly among many of the victims' groups, on the issue of learner permits. We have to ensure that we bring as many people to the point of getting a test, getting the lessons, and ensuring that they are brought through the system in a way that also promotes road safety. I thank both Deputies for raising this issue.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. I know that testing is actually scheduled now for 27 and 28 December in Cavan. This has been brought to my attention. It has not happened before. The testers were not made aware of this and some of them had plans made for the Christmas period. They are just asking if communication from the RSA to the testers could be improved. It makes sense to have testing when young people are out of college and not at work and it might be possible to deal with quite a number of people who are waiting. That is a good idea, but it is just that the communication was very late.
As I said, the RSA manages the contractual position between itself and prospective testers. As the Deputy has said, we should be using every day, where possible, to ensure that people can get tests. Obviously, my Department will reflect on what the Deputy has said. I am not aware of the specific instance to which she referred. I will ask the Department to reflect on what she has said in the context of communicating that information earlier to the people deployed to do this work.
