TD Carol Nolan calls to improve driving test waiting times

INDEPENDENT TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has called for the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to be brought before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications in the event there are not quantifiable and significant improvements in the length of time people are experiencing when applying for a driving test.

The RSA is the statutory body with extensive responsibilities in relation to road safety and driver licensing.

Deputy Nolan was speaking during a Dáil debate on the issue after she and her colleagues in the Rural Independent Group brought forward a private members' motion calling on the Minister for Transport to take immediate action to expedite the recruitment of additional driver testers without further delay.

The motion also called for steps to be taken to ensure the development and implementation of a strategic plan that will lead to the achievement of the RSA's official target of a maximum ten-week wait for a driving test at every testing centre in the country by the end of 2023.

“The national average waiting time for a driving test has now reached 30.4 weeks, which is

totally unacceptable”, said Deputy Nolan.

“Indeed, the shortest wait time nationally is in Longford, with an 18-week waiting period, which, in itself, is almost two months over the maximum target date set by the RSA. I know from recent experience that a person could be waiting as long as seven months for an appointment in Tullamore and eight months in Portlaoise.

“This to my mind represents a clear breach of the service level agreement that the government has with the RSA, who receive millions in state funding annually.

“I asked today that the RSA be brought back to the Oireachtas in September if we do not see improvements because clearly people are not getting a service that is fit for purpose.

“I have many constituents, particularly young people, who want to work, have to get to work or cannot take up apprenticeships because they have not yet passed the driving test and do not have a date for a test. It is totally unacceptable. It is still bedlam. Despite the small

improvements, it is not good enough and does not cut it. The RSA is way behind where it should be.

“There is a clear issue here, with this statutory State agency not being able to fulfil some of the most basic requirements regarding its operation.

“I also want to address one of the other issues that we have identified in our motion, namely, the need to maintain a service that can be accessed with cash.

“Just yesterday, a constituent contacted me to say that the National Driver Licence Service,

NDLS, is not accepting cash as a form of payment. My constituent made the valid point that

although the NDLS lists alternative forms of payment, only one of these is accessible using

cash, and this is what she termed a bogus method. This issue needs to be investigated by the Oireachtas committee.

“As I understand, the NDLS claims that Payzone vouchers can be used, but the Payzone

website does not list one site from which vouchers can be purchased.

“I know from my constituent's account that she tried three different Payzone centres in

Tullamore yesterday in case the website was not giving the correct information.

“I have asked the Minister to follow up and investigate what is going on there. NCT centres were recently directed to continue offering a cash service but the same must now happen with the NDLS”, concluded Deputy Nolan.