Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I had a meeting yesterday with the Road Safety Authority at which this arose. It said the number of emergencies, that is, people needing driver tests at short notice, can all be accommodated. There are a staggering number of no-shows where people just do not turn up. If the Deputy knows people who need a test in a hurry, he should tell them to get on the website and they will find the vacant slots. This may not be very well known and there may be some public relations that need to be done to publicise it. The problem is obviously bad in certain areas. The Deputy may be correct about that, but overall there has been a huge improvement. Overall, if people need a test in a hurry, they can go on the website and find a slot as many people pull out at the last minute or just do not turn up. This is a problem which has been tackled successfully. Of course, there will be hard cases and there will be testing centres that are way above the average and others well below it, but it is improving. If the Deputy has a specific area in mind, he should come back to me. I have all the figures, although not with me today, with the averages in the different areas and the longest waiting times. However, they have improved.