Waiting lists for driving tests are ridiculously long. In my area, which is the worst in the country, the waiting period is over 50 weeks. Nationally it is about 30 weeks. In many cases this means jobs are lost for people who have jobs that are dependent on having a driving licence. People may have relatives they need to care for, including elderly, vulnerable or disabled relatives, and they need a driving licence because public transport is not available to move people around. They cannot do this because they are waiting for a year. Fórsa states that despite commitments to address this problem the RSA is not recruiting full-time staff, and contract staff are not having their contracts renewed. It seems to be outsourcing to contract staff, many of whom are not even properly qualified. Will the Tánaiste address this as a matter of urgency?

The Department of Transport has responded swiftly to alleviate the demand pressure by sanctioning the recruitment of 75 additional driver testers in March 2023. This is in addition to the 30 permanent testers who were previously sanctioned in July 2022. This brings the total number of sanctioned driver tester posts to 205, which is more than double the 100 sanctioned driver tester posts in June 2022. That said, as of 31 December the average estimated waiting time was 22.5 weeks, which is above the accepted service level agreement of ten weeks. The Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, has been in direct contact with the authority.

It is 50 weeks in my area.

A total of 41 additional testers have joined the Road Safety Authority. There is ongoing work and the Minister is very conscious of it and we will continue to increase capacity.