Duncan Smith
Ceist:133. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the RSA’s plans to reduce the waiting times for driving tests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22287/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 16 May 2024
Ceisteanna (133)
Freagraí scríofa
Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service.
At the end of April, the estimated national average wait time to be invited to sit a driving test was 14.9 weeks. While this is still above the service level agreement target of 10 weeks, significant progress has been made since last August, when the estimated wait time was 30.4 weeks nationally.
The driver testing service is currently facing unprecedented demand, with the number of applications for tests rising by 23% year-on-year. Progress in reducing wait times has been achieved primarily through the sanctioning of 75 additional driver tester posts by my Department last March, with the first additional testers entering active service last September. The RSA currently has sanction to employ up to 205 driver testers in total, which is more than double the 100 sanctioned posts in June 2022.
To further assist with reducing waiting times, in October last year a change was made to the booking system to allow any unused test slots to be made available for candidates to take up at short notice. If a driving test is cancelled at short notice, the RSA now make this appointment available to the general public on the MyRoadSafety portal. Following this change, test slot utilisation rates have risen from around 95% to 98%, delivering further testing capacity to the system.
I recognise the challenges that excessive waiting times are imposing on people throughout the country and I welcome the Road Safety Authority's commitment to restoring average wait times to the target, 10-week level during the summer. My officials are working closely with the Authority to monitor progress towards this goal.