Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

So I am told. I have a couple of questions to put to the team. If they are not answerable today, I am happy to take them again. I will might come back in if there is a second round of questions.

I compliment the delivery of driver's licence applications and the changes there. Mr. Waide touched on it earlier. There was a delivery of four or five days. I got mine in two days - appointment booked and licence done. This proves that when we focus on something, we can do it. I met with a very helpful person. I spent an hour of my time and left with the licence. This can be compared with a couple a years ago, when we had to go through misery on behalf of our constituents to get them an appointment to get a licence. It shows that when there is a focus and an effort, we can deal with it.

I am still hearing “post Covid” and “pre-Covid”. We need to move on from excuses about Covid. I hear it everywhere I go; it is still Covid this and Covid that. We have had enough years to recover and catch up in most cases. I am glad that the driver's test waiting time is down to 15 weeks, and I hope we get down to ten soon. When young people are willing to take the test, get involved and are interested in driving, we should be able to respond to their requests, certainly when it comes to those who are trying to work. I know certain classes of worker can be prioritised but in the past some people could not engage in education or work because they could not get a licence and, therefore, I am glad. I hope the effort can be kept up on that, go beyond the ten weeks and drive it down even further. Even ten weeks is not acceptable.

On that, do we have data to compare with other countries? What is the norm across Europe when it comes to waiting time for a test? Applicants are not guaranteed a licence if they take a test.