Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 July 2023
182. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport the number of persons waiting for a driving test that have been waiting two months, four months, six months and one year; and the steps he is taking to reduce waiting times and clear the backlog (details supplied). [33358/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe operation of the national driving test service is the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority and the information requested is held by them. I have therefore referred the question to the Authority for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
On the matter of the steps being taken to reduce driving test waiting times I would like to assure the Deputy that my Department is working closely with the Authority on addressing driver testing waiting times, which is an issue of great concern across the state. The service has been under significant pressure to meet unprecedented demand, which is up 28% on 2021 figures.
The RSA has reviewed the capacity of the driver testing service to meet demand and following a request for additional resources in March 2023, my Department gave approval for the recruitment of up to 75 additional driver testers.
It is expected that once these additional driver testers are recruited, trained, and deployed, the backlog for driver testing services will start to reduce from October 2023 and agreed service levels should resume by early to mid-2024. The additional testers will be assigned to fill current vacancies and otherwise allocated to centres with the highest demand for tests. The recruitment process by the RSA is currently well under way.
