Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 April 2014
6. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the criteria for re-issuing a new driver licence in circumstances where the original has been lost or stolen and the timeframe involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14972/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis question arises out of complaints I have received about the adequacy of arrangements for the operation of the National Driver Licence Service. I have heard complaints about the length of time it takes to issue licences, particularly in cases where a replacement licence is required for a lost or stolen licence and in an emergency case where someone wants to travel. In particular there seems to be confusion at some of the centres as to what is required in the unusual situation of lost or stolen driver licences.
Thank you.
The other point is the distances people must travel to personally present themselves to have their driver licence issued. This is a real challenge.
The National Driver Licence Service, NDLS, is the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority, RSA, and the criteria for applying for a replacement for a lost or stolen driving licence are set out on the RSA website. These requirements include a Garda report stating it was lost or stolen.
There were problems with the speed of processing applications in the NDLS when the system came on stream last November. However, my officials, advisers and I have been in regular discussions with the CEO of the RSA about the difficulties people have experienced and how the RSA proposes to address them. The authority acknowledges there were teething problems with the service when it opened. Some were technical and systems issues, while others related to the fact the staff were new and needed to become familiar with the rules and processes on driving licences and permits. However, the system has now improved.
The RSA responded by increasing resources and staff numbers in NDLS centres experiencing delays, as well as in the licence processing centre, and providing further training to staff. There are no longer any technical difficulties affecting the service. A booking system is in place to allow customers make appointments. This was operating on a pilot phase, which was successful, and the system is being extended on a phased basis to all NDLS offices. I understand from the RSA that applications for a driving licence which are fully in order are now processed in a timeframe of eight to 13 days. This timeframe will reduce to between five and eight days later this month.
The RSA has assured me the remaining backlog has been cleared and that the NDLS can also respond to urgent situations where a licence is needed for travel abroad or for work purposes. The details of this are on the website.
As recently as the week before last four people contacted me and in the case of one of them the person at the desk issuing these licences did not know what was required when a licence was lost or stolen.
Another issue which the Minister might address is the adequacy of the number of offices and the considerable distances people are required to travel in cities such as Dublin or in rural areas where there is no public transport. The service is less accessible now than it was before. This is an obvious case where the post office would be a more opportune way to deliver the service.
In his reply the Minister stated the RSA responded to the problem by increasing resources in the NDLS centres. How can this be when the service was tendered for and won by a particular company? How can additional resources be put into it if the fees have been set?
What is required is on the website and it is a very understandable website. If there are particular cases the Deputy wishes to bring to my attention she should give the details to my office and I will take them up with the NDLS.
The tender required that at least 95% of the population be within 50 km of a centre. It is important to bear in mind that unlike under the previous regime one can go to any centre and one does not have to go to the one in one's local authority area. They are open on Saturdays and during lunchtime, which was not the case under the previous regime.
An Post tendered for it. My understanding is among the reasons its tender was not successful was it could not guarantee openings on Saturday or at lunch time, and the cost of installing the equipment required to take the special photographs in every or many post offices was enormous. Even if it had gone to An Post it would not have been in every or most post offices; it would have been in a number of major post offices.
With regard to the gaps in the system the tender was done by the RSA and not by me and when it is done again it should probably be more prescriptive as to where centres are located. For example there is no centre in Dublin city centre. One must go to Santry, Citywest or Leopardstown for one's licence, which is odd. Generations of people who obtained their licence in the city centre wonder why this is.
On the simple point, will the Minister explain to me why the RSA's response when the company was failing to deliver the service, and allowing for any reasonable excuses given by the Minister such as teething problems, was to give it additional resources? Surely this was tendered for and the contract was signed to deliver it within certain terms and conditions. Why were more resources given to it? The service is still inadequate.
I will allow Deputy McHugh five seconds.
Five seconds or sentences.
Two of them have gone.
I welcome the Minister's comment on the future construct of the tender. I stand to be corrected, but under the previous contract 30 locations were identified in the tender and this precluded companies such as An Post from tendering for it. When the new tender is being constructed we should consider An Post as a readily available outlet. There is an opportunity there if we are creative.
A point to bear in mind is there are three contracts for the front office, the back office and card production. Some of the contracts are going better than others. The front office contract has been a particular problem. The RSA put in additional resources because people were experiencing problems and these needed to be fixed. I was not willing to wait three years for another contract to fix these. This is why extra staff and resources were introduced. There will be a claim and a financial discussion with the company about this. There will be an interesting discussion and debate between the RSA and the company as to who meets the cost of these additional resources. I stand over the fact they were put in. We could not have had a situation where the delays continued for years.
I am a big supporter of the post office and it is a great institution but An Post needs to move with the times. If it is to win contracts it must provide the services which people now expect. People expect services to be available on Saturday morning and they expect availability in the evening. An Post needs to modernise before it starts complaining about not getting work.
