Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Donovan for raising this important matter. The new national driver licensing service is a matter of widespread public interest and I am happy to have a chance to discuss it here. We must be clear about what has changed in issuing driver licences in the past year. Before January 2013, driver licences were issued by the motor taxation offices of local authorities, involving 30 different offices, all dedicating staff and resources to the processing of driver licence applications and the issuing of licences.

The EU requirement to introduce a plastic card driving licence from January 2013, as opposed to a paper licence, meant that there would be significant changes in the way licences were produced, and this provided an opportunity to review the entire system for driver licensing. Following from a study which examined the alternative ways driver licensing might be organised, the Government decided in May 2011 to move to a centralised national driver licensing service, NDLS. At the same time, the Government decided that the Road Safety Authority would be given charge of this service.

Centralising the services offers a number of benefits over the old system. It ensures greater consistency of practice and service across the country and will be more efficient and cost effective. In particular, there is a saving on staff numbers. The creation of a single national driver licensing service also provides for greater security and, under the RSA, offers a one-stop-shop to the public, from theory test to driving test to licence issue. The new system, designed by the RSA, involves three outsourced elements, overseen by a 'specialist unit' based in the RSA headquarters in Ballina. The three outsourced elements are - a card production facility; a front office for engaging with customers; and, a back office to process applications. Contracts were awarded by the RSA for all three services following competitive procurement processes.

Between 19 January and 25 October of this year, local authorities continued to provide customer services relating to driver licences on behalf of the RSA. On 29 October last, the RSA assumed full responsibility for the service. Under the front office contract, provided by SGS Ireland Limited on behalf of the NDLS, customer services are offered at 34 full-time centres and two part-time centres around the country. They are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. They also remain open through lunchtimes. These opening hours are more flexible than previously available and more suited to modern lifestyles. Furthermore, people will be able to use any of the offices to apply for or renew their licence rather than just to the centre in their own local authority, as was the case in the past. The new network provides service to 95% of the population within a 50 km radius.

There were some teething problems with the launch of the new service on Tuesday, 29 October, which the RSA advises have now been substantially resolved. The main difficulties were delays for customers in some NDLS centres; the customer helpline being out of service for part of the first day; and an IT problem at 12 of the 34 centres on the morning of the first day. These problems were in part exacerbated by a high level of demand due to the mid-term break and pent-up demand in the preceding weeks. The RSA has advised that a number of solutions have been put in place to address the earlier difficulties. These include the assignment of additional staff, the provision of a further information campaign and the deployment of a manual booking system of which applicants can avail.

Furthermore, the RSA informs me that it is working with the front office contractor to develop an online booking system to be deployed within a month. I understand that in light of the volume of demand at various front office locations, it has been proposed that the booking system will be deployed across all the offices. I have been assured that provision will be made for emergency situations by reserving some capacity for customers who need a licence at short notice. In the course of the past few days, the NDLS has operated a manual booking system to manage queues on the ground and that has helped to reduce queues significantly across the network. Additional staff have been assigned on the ground to ensure that customers do not have unduly long waits.

It is important to also state that the requirement to attend in person only occurs once, when the person receives a first credit card style driver's licence under this new system. On that occasion, the person's image is captured through the SAFE 2 system and identity is verified in person. That is an important measure to prevent fraud. After attending once in person, people can renew their licence through the post and are not required to attend the centres in person again when their licence needs to be renewed or updated. The move to a centralised driver licensing service is the right one in the long term, and will provide a better service to the public as well as greater security and better value for money. While there have been teething troubles with the new system, which we all very much regret, I am satisfied that these are being dealt with quickly and effectively by the RSA and should be resolved in the coming days and weeks.

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