Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When the Deputy raised it last we were at the height of the Covid pandemic. Many of these centres are trying to manage the office throughput and trying to carry out tests. They have had to make sure these centres were not closed down because of the huge impact this would have on essential workers trying to get driving tests. Like every workplace there were health and safety protocols in place.

I take the point that they wanted access, but we have to rely on the on-the-ground experience of these different centres. Some of them are in shared spaces, that is, there are other businesses within the premises. They have to manage the throughput through office and make sure that people are safe and that social distancing is facilitated. The concern was to try to manage the pandemic. We are in new space now and, it is to be hoped, a better position than we were at this time last year. More than 93% of the adult population is now vaccinated. The issue is trying to manage the spread of the virus in these centres and to minimise the numbers who need to go into them. Over the past 12 months, we have been asked what we are doing to increase the number of people being tested so that they can get their driving licences. It is a difficult situation. We are going through a pandemic. We thought we were coming out of it a number of months ago but we are now in a new space. It is about keeping people safe and adhering to the protocols. Again, ensuring that the centres are safe is an operational matter for the RSA, as is ensuring that it is keeping its own staff and those who come through its offices safe.