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MORE THAN 13,000 people are on driving test waiting lists in the Tallaght test centre, the highest figure in the country.
And while the RSA aims to have driving test wait times of 10 weeks, the average waiting time in Tallaght is 27 weeks, where 13,567 learner drivers were on a waiting list as of 31 January.
This figure of 13,567 includes people who are waiting for an invitation to sit their test or have had their application paused.
Nationwide, this figure is 126,115.
Meanwhile, the estimated wait for a person who submits an application to sit a driving test is at its longest at the Navan test centre, clocking in at 35 weeks.
“No one should be waiting over half a year for their driving test,” said Sinn Féin TD Mark Ward.
He said such waiting times are “totally unacceptable” and cause “great frustration”.
“They push up the costs of learning to drive and trap learner drivers in expensive insurance policies,” said Ward, who added that for some, learning to drive now costs over €3,000.
He added that the backlog can also result in disruptions to other “vital services, as students or workers who rely on their licence are waiting in limbo”.
“For example, there have been delays to the recruitment of Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus drivers, as well as to paramedics as they require a licence to start their course,” said Ward.
He also voiced concern that there are not enough permanent driving testers.
Sinn Féin tabled a motion in the Dáil this evening calling on the government to “match the increased demand for driving tests with appropriate resources”.
“This means ending the over-reliance on temporary driving testers and expediting the recruitment of permanent instructors,” said Ward.
Ward further stated that the “unsatisfactory performance of the RSA can’t be ignored” and that Sinn Féin is “calling for an urgent review of the mandate, resourcing and programme of work”.
Sinn Féin called on the government to “once and for all identify all the gaps in driving test centre locations and mandate the RSA and the OPW to fill them”.
“The deepening crisis requires the political will, ambition and resourcing to solve it,” said Ward.
In response to the Sinn Féin motion, Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien said he “acknowledged the concerns that had been raised”.
He added that waiting times are “unquestionably” too long and that the public needs a “dependable service”.
He confirmed that the government won’t oppose the motion and said the “current waiting times are far in excess of what is acceptable”.
However, O’Brien said measures have been taken to address the issue and that progress should be seen in the coming months.
O’Brien also said that the operation of driving tests is under the statutory remit of the RSA and that he as Transport Minister “is not directly involved in the operation of the service”.
He said the RSA needs to deliver on a ten-week waiting time and that “it has been trending in the wrong direction”.
O’Brien said the increased waiting times are the result of “increased demand and population growth”.
He added that last year was the “busiest year in the history of the service” with the RSA receiving “just under 275,000 new driving test applications”, which was 10% above the RSA’s projections.
O’Brien also noted that 70 additional permanent driving testers were sanctioned in September to help with the driving test backlog but added that the “recruitment campaign takes time”.
He pointed to the Covid pandemic as being part of the reason behind the backlog and said that will liaise with the RSA on delivering new testing centres.
Wait for 6 months for a test then some instructor fails you the day of the test because he’s in bad form or had an argument with the missus that morning. Then wait another 6 months to repeat
@barry williams: instructors don’t test you.
@William Ryan: testers/instructors whatever they call themselves. I’m sure you know what I mean
@barry williams: that’s simply untrue. You fail because you didn’t drive well enough to pass. The least we can do before allowing people.to drive is test them properly. Testers have clear criteria and scoring mechanism and share the scores. Its a fair test of ability. The waiting times are a disgrace though. Government paying lip service to road safety when they do nothing about ensuring more people are tested to prove they can drive safely and qualified.
With recent massive price rises for tests and drivers licences, it all seems to have gotten worse. One thing I notice in Ireland is the more you pay for public services, the worse the service is.
Massive pay cuts to managers in the RSA and Dept of Transport until all waiting lists are cut to the minimum. Same for HSE. Hit incompetency in the pocket, the only way to sort out the shambles of it all.
@Lone Hurler: DOGE
Ah sure the Labour party will sort it out
@Eddienowy Byrne: yes. A brilliant counter intuitive move: increase the waiting lists with further tests. And then the waiting lists will shrink immediately. Why not put more people in hospital while we are at it.
@Alan:
Pity no one actually read what the Labour Party proposed:
1. Sort out the waiting lists for the PRACTICAL driver test; and then
2. Look at having people resit a THEORY test at renewal.
There are no waiting lists for the theory test
@NiallM: this is The Journal comments section, there is no reading, just venting
@NiallM: what are their proposals to sort out waiting lists?
Does anything in this country work properly?
@Tony Murphy: your phone?
If they didnt have so many “quota fails” on a daily basis then the waiting list wouldnt be as long, i wonder how many of them 13,500 are waiting to repeat their test, failed me during covid when insurance companies werent sending out discs and i didnt have colour ink in my printer so no green strip on the disc, no test…its like the nct they quota fail to make more money
@he didnt take the 120k because he already got it split over 3 years: I find it hard to believe that your insurance company did not post you originals.
They are giving out licenses Like confetti at a wedding.
@Phillip Smyth: high failure rates result in increased waiting list thus making your statement nonsensical.
@William Ryan: so many applications they cannot keep up, still giving out many applications that pass in huge amounts, and loads of non passing,in huge amounts, thus hence, many like confetti. Capice.
@Phillip Smyth: your confetti metaphor does not work.
Good, leave them their, road network is over capacity anyway. Years of neglect in the sector
@Thesaltyurchin: “young people shouldn’t be allowed to drive because it will inconvenience my ability to drive”
why don’t the ask for their test to be switched to another center? I did that when there was a backlog in my area, I did a practice with my driiving instructor on the new area before the test and flew through it.
Drive safely, wear a condom.
Obviously wages in these test centres for the average workers are garbage if so short staffed with big lists and needing temp driving testers
@Dan The Man: testers start on around 35k I think.
What percentage of people pass their test the first time, are many on this list resits?
If so then the instruction process needs to be looked at?
have your say