There are delays across the public service and indeed the private service, including in the National Driver Licence Service, NDLS. If a young or other person in Clonmel applies today for a driving test, it will be nearly the end of February before he or she will be allowed to go on the portal to apply again. There is a waiting list of up to nine months for people to do a driving test in Clonmel. These are young people who want to go to employment or college. Their parents are driving them and trying to accompany them, given the regulations the Government brought in, and they cannot get a driver test. Why are tests not offered on Saturdays and Sundays? That effort should be made. The situation has regressed badly in recent years and it is just not acceptable. Young people want to be in employment and employers want to take them on but, whether they are contractors or farmers or whatever, they cannot get work as a result of this issue. Employers are crying out for people to work for them. These young people are enthusiastic and want to do their test, get on the road and do everything right but they are not being allowed to do so. They cannot get a driver test. In 2023, it beggars belief that it will be February before they are allowed to go onto the portal. It is not acceptable.

I understand there has been a significant increase in demand for driving tests since 2019, pre-pandemic. That is a reflection of the fact, perhaps, that there is an increased population in the country and more people at work. I appreciate how important it is to have a car in many parts of the country. The Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, has provided a report to us on this. Additional driver testers are being hired and we expect the situation to improve in the coming months.