Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have received information from the Road Safety Authority, RSA, in response to a parliamentary question. The RSA has said that nationally, a total of 44,746 applicants are waiting to be scheduled for a driver test. This concerns the addendum of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, to the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2017. He has added a provision affecting learner drivers. The figures go to the heart of what I and others in the Rural Independent Group have been saying for some time. There is a huge delay in getting tests. Are we going to penalise learner drivers, put them off the road and confiscate their cars as well? It is deeply alarming that the number of almost 45,000 does not include those already scheduled for a test. The Minister should get his house in order before he tries to rush through legislation that is unenforceable as far as I am concerned, and as the people of the country know. In Tipperary alone, 1,700 people are waiting for a test. After failing the test, one cannot get a retest for a month. The Minister is criminalising ordinary families, ordinary people who want to learn to drive to go to college or work. He is now threatening to have their parents locked up. Someone needs to rein him in and teach him something about rural Ireland.

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