Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 February 2025
20. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Transport the current average waiting times for driving test appointments in County Louth for each of the licence categories; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3648/25]
View answer21. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Transport the current longest waiting times for driving test appointments in County Louth for each of the licence categories; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3649/25]
View answer22. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Transport the current average waiting times in County Louth between being offered an appointment to book a driving test, getting an appointment for the test and sitting a test [3650/25]
View answer23. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Transport the plans that are in place to address waiting times for driving tests in County Louth. [3651/25]
View answer38. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Transport what provision is being made for those who had their driving tests cancelled during the red weather alert during Storm Éowyn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3894/25]
View answer39. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Transport the steps he is taking to address the backlog in people waiting to take driving tests. [3897/25]
View answer40. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Transport the actions that have been taken in the past 12 months to improve waiting times for driving tests. [3898/25]
View answer41. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Transport if he will provide details on the current waiting times for each driving test centre, including the number of people waiting for tests and waiting to be invited to apply for a test, and monthly break down, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3899/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 20 to 23, inclusive, and 38 to 41, inclusive, together.
Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service. Given the RSA's responsibility in this matter, This includes measures to address the impact of the recent storm. I have referred the Deputy's questions to the RSA for direct, detailed reply. Please contact my private office if a response is not received within ten days
Pending this detailed response, to address the issue of driver testing waiting times, in September 2024 my Department sanctioned an additional 70 permanent positions for driver testers. This increases the total permanent sanction for testers to 200, which represents a doubling of permanent posts since June 2022.
As a condition of sanction, my officials have requested that a plan is put in place to restore waiting times to 10 weeks as soon as possible. I understand that recruitment is well underway and additional capacity will enter the service in the coming months, helping to progressively reduce waiting times.
The Deputies may also wish to note that the RSA publish detailed monthly information on the driver testing service on the CSO website, including the breakdown of waiting times and distribution of testing capacity by test centre. This information is available at the following link: https://data.cso.ie/product/RSADTS
