Many young boys and girls cannot do their driver tests because of this second lockdown. They have been waiting for months, even though they have their 12 lessons done. Many who live in rural Ireland cannot go to work or to their apprenticeships. Some who have actually passed their tests cannot get their licences from the National Driver Licence Service, NDLS. Will the Taoiseach provide some exemption to allow these people to drive until they have an opportunity to do their driver tests, once they have their 12 lessons done? It is very unfair on these young people. We need to give these people a chance to get out there in the world and to go to work. I ask the Taoiseach to do something for this cohort of young people in rural Ireland who are stranded and who cannot go to work or to wherever else they would like to go. An exemption could be made for daylight hours to allow them to go to work while prohibiting social use at night.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. We are all determined to deliver all public services for citizens in a safe way. The driver testing service was closed during the last lockdown, which led to a considerable backlog. I will discuss the issue with the Minister to see if we can find a way to deal with the issues the Deputy has raised. Perhaps the Deputy could communicate details of any particular cases he knows of that illustrate the difficulties people are experiencing to my office or that of the Minister.

I can then discuss those with the Minister.