Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 March 2021
245. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport when driver tests and lessons will resume; the additional protections that will be provided to driver testers and approved driving instructors to ensure their safety at work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12908/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe operation of the Driver Testing Service is the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority (RSA), and as such the RSA, and its service providers, are responsible for the health and safety of staff under health and safety legislation, including assessments of their various functions, and developing safety protocols to ensure the safety of their workers and customers.
Given the significant risk to testers when conducting a driving test, Government has deemed that the driver testing service should be available only for essential workers in Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions. The Road Safety Authority offers driving tests to those who can produce evidence that they are an essential worker, in accordance with Government definitions. No exceptions can be made.
Level 5 legislation defines driving instruction as an essential service "where the person receiving instruction has a booking reserved to undergo a test". To have a booking reserved is understood here as to have been allocated a specific time and date for a test, as opposed to have only applied for one.
These limitations in both services will remain in place until level 5 restrictions are eased.
The RSA have provided the Department with comprehensive information concerning the measures that have been put in place across all their services to ensure they can continue in a safe manner and in line with HSE and HSA guidelines.
Public services must be delivered in a safe way. The driving test involves challenges because of the need for drivers to sit in the same vehicle with test candidates, and to move between vehicles which are not controlled working environments.
The Road Safety Authority, which is responsible for driver testing, has worked with medical advice to ensure that the service is as safe as possible, but this means a reduction in capacity of 42%.
It is a tribute to the success of the health protocols that, although thousands of driving tests have taken place, there has been no case of transmission of Covid-19 through a driving test.
Approved Driving Instructors (ADIS) are entirely independent operators and neither the Road Safety Authority nor the Department can dictate how they run their individual businesses. It is up to each driving instructor or driving school to make the appropriate choices to protect themselves and their families.
