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

I accept that there were considerable difficulties, particularly in the first week, for a number of reasons. They were just teething problems. This is always the case with a new service. No matter how much testing one does on a computer system, the model is never the same as the one that applies in reality. There was a lot of demand. It was a half-term week so it was busier than expected. There was a backlog of applications that had not come through the local authorities. Extra staff are now in place. There is an informal booking arrangement in some local authority areas and there will be a more formalised booking arrangement in the next month.

I am not 100% satisfied that the issue is fully sorted. I met the interim CEO of the RSA to discuss this on Monday. This week, there were far fewer problems than arose in previous weeks. I am confident that any remaining issues can be ironed out in the next week or two.

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