Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)

I note that the Minister is now trying to pass responsibility for the backlog to the new authority. However, is it not the case that the Minister caused the backlog in the first place by his irresponsible comments? What specific actions will the Minister take to address the problem? He is thinking about appointing eight people to fill the tester vacancies. Will he introduce a bonus scheme in the summer and not in the autumn as he did last year, when it was not possible to provide any additional tests as they had to take place during daylight hours? Would it not make more sense to have it in place this summer so that we could clear some of the backlog?

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