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

I appreciate that there are very long delays for people who want to take their driver test in many parts of the country. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Road Safety Authority are working on reducing the waiting time for tests to less than 12 weeks. It is important to say again that the concept of the provisional licence was abolished a very long time ago. There are no provisional licences anymore and there have not been for years. It is called a "learner permit". It is not a licence to drive. The reason young drivers have learner permits is that they have either not done a test or have failed their test. It is, therefore, not safe for them to drive on their own. Above all this is a road safety measure.

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