Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport
Issues Relating to Road Safety: Road Safety Authority
Mr. Brendan Walsh:
It is a broad indicator. I had the number. I was looking at it yesterday but I do not have it in front of me. It is broadly in and around 15%. In addition, in our NDLS service, we are currently renewing on average about 900,000 licences per year where previously we were renewing around 650,000 licences a year. Again, we see that coming through in the demand. We forecast this year that we will put approximately 250,000 drivers through the driving test. In 2019, the figure was 167,000. There is no backlog. This is just the new norm, as I think I said previously in this committee. We have an increased number of drivers, an increased number of vehicles and also an increased number of commercial vehicles operating because the economy is doing well. We have a vibrant export business. We see that coming through in the requests we receive for C and D licences. We also see the number of people who are coming in from abroad and need to have a licence. We see all of these things and they are all factors that are driving the increase.
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